


Storm Clouds May Gather, Stars May Collide

by HockeyRPFFan



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, Morning Sickness, Original Character(s), Semi-graphic childbirth, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-05-10 02:55:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 63,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14728629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HockeyRPFFan/pseuds/HockeyRPFFan
Summary: “Tess…” He says softly, reaching a hand out to rub her back. She sniffles, and swipes at a few tears that fall down her cheeks. Marie’s quickly rubbing her hand up and down Tessa’s arm on her other side. “C’mon kiddo, what’s up?”Tessa lets out a shaky breath, and looks up at the three of them. “I can’t do that lift because I’m pregnant.”OrTessa's boyfriend leaves her in Spring of 2020 after finding out she's pregnant, and Scott refuses to let her do it alone.





	1. Chapter One

March 2020

Scott’s notices that Tessa’s been off all day since arriving at the rink. She was silent on their way there that morning, not even bothering to turn his country music over to something off her 1980’s playlist in the car. She hadn’t taken a sip of the coffee he’d had ready for her in the usual travel mug, and he doesn't even think she picked it up. It was all beyond unusual, but she didn’t want to seem to talk, so he decided not to press her. He thinks now standing next to her on the ice that maybe he should have.

“I can’t do that lift.” Tessa says, and Scott quickly shifts his gaze from Marie-France and her explanation of their new exhibition choreography over to Tessa. Patrice stands off to the side, eyeballing her questioningly too. It’s unusual for Tessa to flat out refuse a lift without at least trying it first. 

“It’s not that much different than the lifts you’ve done before.” Marie reasons with her. “It’s rather acrobatic, but nothing you two can’t handle.”

“We can at least try it, T.” Scott says, but he can tell she’s made her decision by the way she’s firmly clenched her jaw and won’t make eye contact with any of them.

“I know I could do it normally, but I can’t right now.” Tessa says, crossing her arms and shifting her weight. Scott knows that’s her “I’m not comfortable” stance, and it makes alarm bells ring in his head that something must be wrong with her. 

“Are you injured?” Patch asks, and she shakes her head no, but Patch clearly isn’t buying it. “You sure?”

Scott looks back at Tessa, who looks like she’s ready for the ice to open up and swallow her whole at any time. She shakes her head again in a way that doesn’t seem to be confirming or denying if she’s injured. Then, to Scott’ horror, he can see tears shimmering in Tessa’s eyes. 

“Tess…” He says softly, reaching a hand out to rub her back. She sniffles, and swipes at a few tears that fall down her cheeks. Marie’s quickly rubbing her hand up and down Tessa’s arm on her other side. “C’mon kiddo, what’s up?”

Tessa lets out a shaky breath, and looks up at the three of them. “I can’t do that lift because I’m pregnant.”

Scott feels like the ice tilts and he swallows down the bile that edges up his throat. He knew something was off, but this was…unexpected. He’s dizzy for a moment, and the only thing that makes him focus back in on the moment is the sight of Tessa crying. 

“Pregnant?” He hears himself say, and Tessa nods. 

“Oh, Tessa.” Marie says, her voice caught somewhere between pity and excitement. Scott isn’t really sure how to feel either, well…he knows how he feels. But, those feelings he’s keeping safely tucked away, thank you very much.

“You and Josh must be excited.” Patch says, and apparently that was the wrong thing to say, because Tessa’s chin quivers and she lets out a sob. Scott pulls her against his chest, and she collapses into him. Patch shoots him and Marie worried looks, seemingly searching their faces for an answer to what happened with Tessa’s boyfriend, but neither of them have an answer.

“He left.” Tessa mutters against Scott’s collarbone, and he feels the blood in his veins boil.

“He what?” Scott asks her, his voice low as he tries to contain his anger. 

“He left.” She repeats, pulling away. “He said he didn’t want to be a father.”

Scott sees red and he tries counting his breaths to push away the fury that builds up inside him. He was never the biggest fan of Tessa’s most recent boyfriend, but he never imagined the guy would walk out on Tessa over a pregnancy. The guy had been decent enough, or at least Scott had thought so until now. 

Tessa had met Josh at one of her sponsorship events, and he was a banker in Quebec City. They’d been dating for nearly six months, and Scott had spent enough time around the guy to know he took care of Tessa for the most part and shared her passion for fashion. Scott never told Tessa that Josh had told him to keep his distance, that Tessa was his and not Scott’s. She’d been happy, and Scott didn’t want to be the one to ruin that for her, so he’d kept quiet about it. Now he wishes he hadn’t.

But, the anger leaves him as quickly as it came, and all he feels is sorrow. Tessa, his poor Tess, was alone and pregnant. Patch and Marie both make soothing noises as Tessa’s tears continue to flow. The four of them huddle closer to her to avoid any spectators that may stroll by the rink.

“I’ll go after him myself.” Patch says, a steely edge to his voice. “He can’t do that to you.”

“It’s okay.” Tessa says, her voice breaking. “I’m glad he told me instead of waiting around.”

Scott swears he feels his heart break in two, and can’t imagine how Tessa feels. 

“You’re not alone in this, okay?” Marie says, and whips Tessa’s tears with the sleeve of her jacket. “You have all of us and your family here for you.”

“Thank you.” Tessa says with a sniffle. “Do you mind if go home? My morning sickness has been awful and I was up pretty early this morning.”

Patch and Marie both agree, sending her home with hugs and kisses. 

“Give me a minute, I’ll drive you home.” Scott tells her, and she nods before heading off the ice to change. 

As soon as she’s out of sight, Scott bends down with his hands on his knees and lets a few tears slip down his cheeks. He feels like the world is spinning, and the only thing he wants to do is hole up in Tessa’s apartment with her and protect her. More than anything he wants to help her, and the best way to help her through this is to be there for her. He wants to be there through the morning sickness and the checkups and the mood swings. He wants to be the one to pick her up chocolate at 3 a.m. when her cravings get bad and massage her feet when they swell. He wants to hold her hand through the contractions and watch her laugh and cry at the same time when she meets her baby for the first time. 

“I’m going to do something you may think is stupid.” He says, and he feels Marie’s hand on his back. 

“I’m not surprised.” He hears Patch say from somewhere to the left of him, and Marie-France scoffs at him. “But, she’s fragile right now, Scott.”

“I know,” He says, straightening up. “But I’m not letting her do this on her own.”

Marie gives him a loving look, but her eyes are sad.

“I know you wanted this with her, and maybe you can still have it someday, but you can’t force her into this.” Marie says gently, clearly trying to watch her words. “Tessa’s emotions are all over the place, and you have to be ready for her to push you away and pull you close all at the same time.”

He nods.

“She may not want you in this like you want to be.” Patch says bluntly and Marie shoots him a look.

The words sink like a stone in his stomach. Scott knows Patch probably isn’t wrong. He’s been in love with Tessa for a long time, but the timing just never seemed to work out between them. Scott would be lying if he said he hadn’t pictured a life with her. He could picture her walking down the aisle towards him, glowing in white. He could seem them in a beautiful house with a brown haired, green eyed little girl running around and another baby on the way. He knew that dream would probably never be a reality, especially not now.

“I know.” He replies softly. “I’m still going to try and do what I can for her. She deserves that much.”

Patch nods, and claps him on the shoulder. 

“Then go.” He says, and Scott shoots them both a grateful look before rushing off the ice after Tessa. 

\----------

Scott spends the afternoon at Tessa’s apartment, the two of them curled up close on the couch with the TV on for background noise. The program switches from a home renovation show to a demo on painting accent walls. He can feel that Tessa wants to say something, so he keeps quiet and watches as the painter shows the correct way to roll the paint on the wall.

“I’m fourteen weeks along.” She says softly. 

“Oh.” Scott replies, because he doesn’t know what to say to that. He wants to be mad at her for not telling him sooner, but he knows the first few months of pregnancy are when the risk of miscarriage is highest. He understands her decision to keep quiet, though he wishes he’d been there to comfort her more than anything during the last few months. He settles on asking her something else to keep his mind off the weeks she suffered alone. “Boy or girl?”

“I don’t know yet.” She replies. “I know people always say as long as it’s healthy they don’t care, but I really want a girl.”

Scott smiles at her, because he can easily imagine Tessa holding a mini version of herself. He can see the tiny white figure skates, pretty dresses and hair bows that her possible daughter would no doubt love as much as her mother. 

“I hope it’s a girl for you.” He tells her, and she smiles at him. “Tess, you know I’m here for you, right?”

“Of course.” She replies. 

“You know I’d do anything?” Scott asks, his stomach tumbling with nerves. 

“Yes.” Tessa says warily, picking up on the way his voice wavers. 

“I want to be here for you during all this.” He tells her, and she gives him a puzzled look.

“You already are.” She says slowly. 

He shakes his head, grabbing her hands in his. “I mean I want to help you raise your kid.”

Tessa looks at him for a moment, and then burst into tears. Scott thinks he’s seen her cry more in the past few hours than he has in the past two years, and he’s suddenly got an armful of sobbing Tessa. 

“I’m sorry.” He says hesitantly. “I can’t really take what I said back, cause I meant it.”

“I'm sorry, it's the pregnancy hormones.” She sniffles, the crying stopping for the time being, and she leans back to meet his eye. “You're too goof to me Scott Moir. I can’t ask that of you. Someday you’re going to get married and have kids of your own, and I don’t want to make things messy. Our lives have already been messy enough, you know?”

Scott wants to tell her that it won’t be messy because he wants to be with her, to marry her. He wants them to have kids together, so it actually won’t be messy at all. Messy is actually the last thing it would be. But, he knows that’s maybe a little too much for today, and for poor Tessa’s hormones. 

“I’m not dating anyone, so I’m pretty far away from marriage or kids of my own.” He reminds her. “I want to help you T, and if that means helping you raise this baby and being there as its…” 

He trails off, because he wants to say “dad,” but Tessa is staring at him with eyes like a deer caught in headlights and she seems to know where that sentence was leading. He takes the easy way out. “As its, well, whatever you want me to be for your baby, then I’m all in.”

She’s crying again, though it’s a little more subdued this time around.

“He should be here to do that.” She says softly.

“Yeah, Josh should.” Scott says, and fights to keep the edge out of his voice at the mention of the guy that put Tessa in this situation to begin with. “But it sounds like he made his decision.”

Tessa nods, and glances across the room to the dining table, where Scott can see a manila envelope. 

“Scott, he already signed away his parenting rights.”

If Scott had thought his heart had broken earlier, it was cleanly in two now. He didn’t even know you could give up the rights this early into a pregnancy, and it settles him firmly in his decision as he looks back at Tessa and sees the fear in her eyes as she looks at the envelope that has left her a single mother to a baby she clearly hadn’t expected.

“Then he’s out the equation.” Scott says, redirecting her attention back to him by wiping the tears from her cheeks with his thumb. “But I’m not.”

“You’re sure?” Tessa asks, voice small. He could see the way her eyes softened and the slightest of smiles graced her lips at his offer, and he had never felt surer of anything in his life.

“Yes.” He says, and smiles at her. “I want to be here Tess, for you and the baby.” 

She starts crying again, though Scott thinks they’re relieved tears more than anything, and for that he is grateful.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the kind words on chapter one! I was blown away by the wonderful feedback, subscriptions, bookmarks and kudos. This chapter is a little shorter than the last one, but the next few will be longer. Enjoy!

While they may not be performing again anytime soon, Tessa insists on still skating. Scott would be lying if he said it didn’t make him nervous. Now that the morning sickness had passed (Scott wants to kick himself for not noticing how sick she was before she told them she was pregnant), and she’s mostly back to her usual self, she wants to try and keep in as good of shape as she can. The thought of her falling or him tripping her up sets him on edge though, and he’s more mindful of her when skating than he thinks he ever has been. 

So, they remove all the lifts from their practices and programs, and Marie or Patch always sit on the boards and watch them in case of an emergency. They flip their early morning skates for early evenings to help avoid any onlookers or random bouts of morning sickness, and within a few weeks they settle in to their new routine. 

With Gadbois safely locked up and only the four of them inside, Tessa is safe to remover her baggier athletic gear for her usual leotard and leggings. She’s taken to hiding her stomach as much as she can, especially when entering and exiting the rink each day. Scott doesn’t notice it at first, but at 18 weeks pregnant her baby bump is slowly becoming more noticeable. She catches him staring as she unzips her warm up jacket, and she gives him a small smile. 

“You’re finally starting to show!” Marie says excitedly from the bench, and Tessa laughs and nods. The two of them are quickly talking and Patch puts a hand on Scott’s shoulder. 

“Tessa seems happy.” Patch says, watching Tessa smile as Marie talks animatedly about her own pregnancy with Billie-Rose. “I was worried about her.”

“She is happy, most days at least.” Scott tells him. “The second trimester has helped with that.”

Patch shakes his head at him, a wry smile on his lips. “You know, I never thought I’d hear you talking about pregnancy.”

Scott pushes at Patch’s shoulder as Patch chuckles at him. “I’ll have you know I read the entirety of ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’ in the month since finding out. I’m a pregnancy pro now.”

Patch shakes his head, still laughing as he slowly circles around Scott. 

“What you’re doing for her is something else. Not a lot of men would step up like that.” Patch says. “It’s a big commitment.”

“It’s Tessa, you know? Wasn’t that hard of a decision for me.” Scott replies, shrugging off Patch’s comment. “I wasn’t going to let her do this alone, I told you.”

“What happens down the road, Scott?” Patch questions, the both of them watching the girls’ stroke around the ice slowly. “What happens when you find someone, or she does?”

“You know how I feel about her.” Scott says. “She’s it for me, Patch. If she finds someone else I’ll understand, and I’ll do whatever she needs me to, but I’m in this for the long haul.”

“You’re a good man, Scott.” Patch says, his face serious. “Now let’s get this practice underway. Enough baby talk.”

\----------

“I have an appointment tomorrow morning, if you want to come?” Tessa says one night a week later as they both sit on her couch. He’s massaging her feet, sore from a long evening at the rink on top of the swelling.

“Yeah, I’d love to.” Scott tells her, and Tessa gives him a hesitant smile, the one that tells him she’s nervous about something. “What’s up?”

She lets out a sigh, and fiddles with the edge of the blanket in her lap. “It’s a big appointment tomorrow since it’s the half way point.”

“They do an ultrasound right?” Scott asks, trying to rack his brain for what he’d read about prenatal appointments at this point in the pregnancy, or anything about being 20 weeks pregnant for that matter.

“Yeah, and I can find out what I’m having.” She replies. “I’m more worried about everything developing right obviously, but I’ve been dying to know what I’m having.”

Scott smiles at her, and puts a comforting hand on her knee. 

“I can’t wait to see.” He tells her.

He ends up spending the night in her guest room after they fall asleep watching a movie. Her appointment is early the next morning, and they’re in the car and on the way before the sun is fully up. Tessa’s groggy in the passenger seat without her much missed coffee, and Scott turns on some Hall and Oates to try and get her to wake up a little more. 

They’re checked in immediately and taken back to an exam room when they arrive to the doctor’s office; something Scott supposes has to do with both their last names and the NDA Tessa had the office sign at her first appointment. She has him step out for a few minutes while she changes and they do some initial tests, and then he’s sitting at her side while she reclines back on the exam table. 

“Ultrasound next?” He asks her, and she nods, biting her lip. Her grip on his hand is tight; an obvious sign of just how nervous she is even though she’s silent compared to her usual nervous chattiness. “Relax, T. It’s going to be fine.”

She doesn’t get a chance to respond, because her doctor and an ultrasound technician come in to the room. Tessa lifts the gown she has on and adjusts the blanket in her lap. Scott sees her shiver when the cool gel is spread around her stomach. It only takes a few seconds for the tech to find the baby, and she flips the screen around for them to see. Tessa gasps delightedly, and Scott has to swallow around the lump in his throat. The baby actually looks like a baby, nothing like the fuzzy shape from the previous ultrasound that Tessa had pinned to the fridge. The baby moves a bit on the screen, and Scott feels himself smiling.

“Have you felt the baby moving yet?” The doctor asks, and Tessa shakes her head. “Hmm.”

“What does ‘hmm’ mean?” Scott asks, because ‘hmm’ usually implies something is off. Tessa squeezes his hand, and he realizes how overly protective his tone had been.

“Usually women who are very thin or athletic start to feel movement around weeks 18 to 20.” She explains, and Tessa nods. “It’s completely normal if she hasn’t felt anything yet though, so don’t worry.”

Scott breathes out slowly, pushing the anxiety of something being wrong away. He glances over at Tessa, and sees that her eyes are glued to the screen as the technician changes angles and points out parts of the baby. 

“The heart looks good, let’s take a listen.” The technician says, and the fast whooshing sound of the heartbeat fills the room. If Scott had thought Tessa looked happy before he’d been wrong. She’s beaming now, and he can’t fight back the tears that spring to his eyes at the sight of her. She squeezes his hand again and gives him a wink, though she doesn’t seem to know that he’s tearing up over her and not the baby.

“I cried the first time I heard it too.” She tells him, and he feels guilty for not having been to that appointment. She’d promised him he hadn’t missed much, especially since he hadn’t even known she was pregnant at the time, but it’s a reoccurring guilt he has each time she mentions something he missed from the early stages. She’d told him it was fine, but he’s not as upset about missing things himself as he is for her having had to do it all alone. 

“Did you want to know the sex of the baby today?” The technician asks, and Tessa nods furiously. “Wonderful, give a minute or so to get a good angle.”

Tessa lies still, though Scott can see her spinning the rings on her right hand with her thumb. He gives her hand a squeeze to stop her nervous fidgeting, and he reaches up to brush a stray hair away from her eyes. 

“You good?” He asks, and she nods, though he can see right past her lie. 

“Okay Tessa, I think both the doctor and I can give you about a 95% confirmation of what you’re having. We always have to leave room for surprises, but we both are pretty confident in this case.” The technician says. “Look right here.”

The technician points to the screen, and points out parts of the baby from top to bottom.

“Here is the left leg, and that’s the right. You can see the tip of the spine down here, and that’s the bottom. If you look between the legs, you should be able to see what you’re having pretty clearly.”

Scott leans forward, squinting and studying the picture as best as he can. He’s pretty sure he knows, but he isn’t going to say anything until Tessa does.

“It’s a girl?” She asks, voice thick with tears. 

“Yes, congratulations.” The doctor says, and Tessa lets out a shaky laugh. Tears start streaming down her face and Scott quickly presses a kiss to both of her cheeks, paying no attention to the ones that fall down his own. 

“A girl, T!” He says excitedly. “That’s what you wanted!”

“You wanted me to have a girl too.” She reminds him, gratefully accepting a tissue from the doctor. 

“Well yeah, because that’s what you wanted.” Scott tells her, and she smiles at him. “I’m so happy for you.”

“Me too.” She replies with a laugh. “I can’t believe it. I’m having a girl.”

A part of Scott breaks a little inside, because she uses “I’m” a lot when it comes to the pregnancy. He knows it’s stupid; he’s not the one carrying a baby, and he isn’t even the father. He wants to correct her, tell her that “they’re” having a girl. But he isn’t, really. 

“Yeah, you are Tess. You’re having a girl.” He says, swallowing down the sob that builds in his throat and hiding it with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you all so much for reading and feel free to leave me a comment below!


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter for you all :)

May 2020

The first week of May is bittersweet for the both of them. Stars on Ice is rolling through Montreal, and it’s the first time in years that neither of them are on tour. It’s led to a lot of speculation about why they aren’t touring this year, and also leads to Tessa pretty much going radio silent on social media. Scott watches as she wraps herself in a bubble of planning for her future daughter and ignores all things figure skating for what might be the first time in her life. He tries to get her to come to the rink, even just to watch his junior team practice, but she won’t set foot near Gadbois.

“Someone will see me, Scott.” She tells him each time, and at 23 weeks pregnant her belly is slowly getting harder to hide. 

He understands where she is coming from, really. He knows that there would be mixed reactions from the fans on Tessa suddenly being pregnant, and knows the assumptions that would be made in regards to who got her that way in the first place. So, he lets her do what she wants, knowing better than to try and fight with her when she’s in one of her moods. He goes to the rink early in the mornings, coaches his team and then heads to her place for lunch every day. Midway through the week he’s picked up sandwiches from her favorite deli for lunch, along with a box of Timbits to satisfy her latest craving. 

“Hey.” She calls to him softly when he comes through the door, and he plants a kiss on the side of her head as he moves around the couch to sit next to her. 

“I got us the usual, and some Timbits for you.” He tells her, pulling the food out of the plastic bag. She hums appreciatively, but stays otherwise silent. They eat that way too, and Scott keeps side eyeing her as she fidgets and looks anywhere but at him.

“You’re awful quiet today.” He says after finishing his sandwich, and turns to look at her. She pops another Timbit in her mouth and chews thoughtfully. She puts the box aside and then sits with her back against the arm of the couch, finally facing him.

“I miss touring.” She sighs. “I mean obviously I have a pretty legitimate excuse this year.” 

She smoothes a hand down her belly, and a brief smile crosses her lips. It’s a look Scott’s come to associate with when she feels the baby move, something that had finally happened a week or so after her 20 week appointment. The smile fades quickly though, and he waits as she decides what she wants to say.

“I’ll never regret having the baby, but it changes the future a lot. I wasn’t ready to stop skating, you know? I wanted to keep touring and doing master classes and traveling.” She says, blowing air out from between her lips as she clearly tries to keep it together.

“We can still do all those things once the baby is born.” He says, and she gives him a hard look.

“I can’t tour or travel with a baby, Scott.” She says, voice rising. “That’s not even taking in to account that my body will be different.”

“Tessa-.” He starts to say, wanting to calm her down before she works herself up. 

“No.” She cuts him off. “You don’t get it. You’re body isn’t going to stretch and grow and change forever. I’ve already gained weight, and it’s bound to get worse. I’ve got stretch marks and my ankles keep swelling and I know it’s stupid to be worried about that kind of stuff, but it bothers me.”

She huffs out a breath as a few tears slip down her cheeks, and she swipes them away angrily before Scott can reach over. 

“And most importantly I’m tired of crying all the damn time.” She sniffles.

Scott puts her hands in his, and squeezes them until she meets his eye.

“You’re beautiful Tessa Virtue.” He says, and she rolls her eyes at him. “No, no eye rolling, I’m serious. You’re right that my body will never go through what you’re going through, and I can’t even imagine what it’s like. But, I can tell you that it leaves me in such awe of how strong you are.”

Scott can see his words take effect as her shoulders lose some of the tension she’d been carrying in them since he arrived.

“You may have gained weight, but I barely notice it beyond your baby bump. I’ve not seen your stretch marks, but if they bother you that much you can always cover them. As for your ankles, you know that I am here to give you massages as often as you want.” He tells her, and she curls into his side, her hands clutching at his t-shirt.

“You’re too kind.” She whispers, and he shushes her.

“Not done yet.” He says, running his fingers through her hair. “You’re glowing, you know? I always heard my mom talk about how pregnant women glow, but I never really got it until I saw you. You may think that you’re ugly, but all I see is a beautiful soon to be mama.” 

“Scott.” She sniffles, pulling out of his arms to place a kiss to his cheek. 

“Listen to me, T. If you want to skate and tour after you have the baby then we will make it work.” He says, brushing her hair out of her eyes. “I’ve spent 22 years learning your body, and I will gladly spend the next 22 relearning it if I have to.”

She starts crying (again), and he holds her close and hopes she hears his words as more than just a friend.

\----------

He surprised to see her waiting from him at the boards on an early Saturday morning a few days later. He tells his junior team to keep working on their footwork as he strokes over to her.

“I want to go to the show tonight. Patch says we can sit with them in their box.” She says firmly, and Scott nods. “I also want to tell Chiddy, Kait and Andrew about the baby.”

“Whatever you want to do I’m on board with, Tess.” He tells her, and she gives him an appreciative smile.

Scott is beyond grateful that Patch and Marie-France have enough connections at the Bell Centre to get him and Tessa in pretty much unnoticed that night. They’re settled into their box long before the crowds are let in to the building, and they keep the lights off to avoid any onlookers from spotting them. Billie-Rose demands pretty much all of Scott’s attention as soon as they get there, wanting to tell him a story about her morning from her figure skating session. Tessa squeezes his hand before sitting down with Marie-France, the two of them striking up a quick conversation. They spend the hour wait chatting and watching Billie-Rose demonstrate a new jump she’s learning. Patch gets them all snacks and they all settle in to watch the show as the lights go down.

The opening number is lively, with old and new faces mixed in to make up the cast of 2020. Most of the individual numbers are modern and fast paced as usual, but Kait and Andrew’s exhibition is a floaty number to music from Romeo and Juliet. Scott can see Tessa’s eyes are glued to the ice, taking in the ballet styled number. She’s slowly rubbing her stomach, something he’s noticed her do absent mindedly from time to time. 

“Scott.” She says under her breath, and he turns his attention away from the rotational lift on the ice. Tessa has a weird expression on her face, something caught between amazement and concentration. At first he thinks it’s because of the choreography, but then he notices the way she has her hand pressed hard to her stomach. 

“What’s wrong?” He asks, snaking an arm around her back to draw her close. She shakes her head, and grabs for his hand. She moves the hand pressed to her belly away, and replaces it with his. She presses down on his hand, and he’s about to ask her if he’s hurting her until he feels a soft tapping against his palm. 

“Holy shit.” He says, voice at a normal level, and Tessa slaps his arm as Marie-France shoots them both a look over Billie-Rose’s head. Scott gives her sheepish look before turning his attention back to Tessa.

“It’s the music.” Tessa says softly, eyes sparkling with happiness. “She likes classical stuff. She moves a lot when I play it at the apartment, but I’ve never felt her from the outside until now.”

Scott nods along dumbly, not sure what to say because holy crap. He can faintly feel Tessa’s baby somersaulting and wiggling under his hand. Tessa keeps her hand over his as they watch the rest of the show, and Scott tries not to think about how his stomach feels like it’s full of butterflies. 

They sneak out of the show a few minutes before it ends and successfully make it back to Tessa’s apartment without any run ins with fans. Tessa changes in to something more comfortable while Scott makes some late dinner for him, Tessa and their guests. Chiddy, Kait and Andrew show up thirty minutes later, and Tessa walks quickly down the hallway to let them in. Scott can hear Kait squealing as she and Tessa hug, and the boys makes their way into the kitchen to greet him. The usual pleasantries are exchanged and beers are cracked open and wine poured as they all settle in for dinner. The three performers dig in to the meal after a long night on the ice, and Scott joins them after putting the leftovers into Tupperware’s. 

He listens to the stories about the SOI shenanigans, and tells them about his junior team when asked. Tessa is noticeably quiet, even when Kait brings up the program that had so enthralled Tessa just hours earlier. She’s pushing the food around her plate, and Scott gives her a pointed look to remind her that she needs to eat. She keeps her head down the rest of the meal, pointedly taking a few bites before setting her fork down and drinking her water while everyone else finishes.

“Here, I’ll take the dishes.” She says, and collects the plates before walking into the kitchen. Scott excuses himself, following quick on her heels. Tessa has her hands braced on either side on the sink, and he can see she’s trying to slow her breathing down. He hugs her from behind, taking deep breaths to try and encourage her to match him. She does after a moment, and tilts her head back on his shoulder. 

“Thank you.” She sighs, and then turns around in his arms. “I’m just nervous.”

“It’s just our friends, T. Don’t be nervous.” He says, and she gives him a tight smile. “Ready?”

She nods, and he follows her back out of the kitchen and into her living room where everyone has settled. He sits on the edge of the arm chair where Chiddy is sitting, and Tessa stands in front of them, nervously wringing her hands. 

“I know you’re probably wondering why Scott and I aren’t on tour this year, so I thought it would be best to hear it directly from me.” She says, and the three other figure skaters nod. She glances over towards Scott, and he gives her a smile and slight nod to continue.

“I’m 23 weeks pregnant.” She says quickly, with no explanation or introduction, and Scott can see Kait’s jaw drop as she smacks Andrew in the arm as he chokes on his own spit.

“What did you do?” Chiddy says under his breath, raising his eyebrows at Scott at the same time Kait yells out “I’m so excited for you two!”

“Scott isn’t the father.” Tessa says quickly, and Kait blushes. “It’s fine Kait, really. My ex wasn’t interested in being a father, so Scott is going to help me raise the baby.”

“Let me rephrase that, what the hell did you do?’ Chiddy says once Kait and Andrew are hugging Tessa, and Scott shrugs. “We all know you’re in love with her, and now you’re what, playing house?”

“It’s not like that. I’m just helping her out.” Scott explains, and Chiddy shakes his head.

“Why are you both so dumb? You love her, and she loves you. Just be in love and be a family. Why is that so hard?” Chiddy asks, and Scott drags him by the arm into the kitchen under the pretense of getting champagne for all the non-pregnant people to celebrate before Tessa hears him.

“She doesn’t love me.” Scott says bluntly once they’re out of sight from the living room. “I’m doing this because she’s my best friend in the whole world, and I’m not letting her be a single parent just because her asshole of an ex couldn’t man up.”

Chiddy shakes his head, setting down the champagne flutes and turns back around to face Scott. “Some of that is probably true, because you’re one of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my life. But, you’ve also been in love with Tessa for years, and it seems like she loves you too. Have you guys talked about this at all?”

“We’ve been a bit more focused on the fact that’s she’s pregnant.” Scott says dryly, crossing his arms over his chest. “I told her I’m not dating anyone, so it’s not like it’ll cause an issue anytime soon.”

“So you told her a half truth then, because you and I both know the only person you want to date is her.” Chiddy points out. “Look man, I’m not trying to cause any problems, but the fact that you’re in love with her and being the pseudo-father to her baby just seems like a whole new can of worms that’s going to open and explode at some point.”

“You’re not wrong.” Scott admits, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Hell, you’re pretty much right. I love her Chiddy, and I can’t get the dream of marriage and children with her down the road out of my head. But right now I have to focus on what’s happening, and that’s Tessa having a baby by herself.”

“She’s not by herself if she’s with you.” Chiddy says softly. “If you two can work this out then she won’t be along and maybe you two could be an actual family.”

“You don’t think I haven’t thought of that?” Scott asks, putting the champagne bottle down on the counter probably harder than he should have. “I want to make this work with her, but it takes two people to make a relationship and I really don’t think she’s interested.”

Chiddy groans, and rubs both hands over his eyes. “Why are you two so dumb? It’s clear to me that she loves you just as much as you love her.”

“Oh yeah, how so? Because so far she seems to be determined to do as much of this as she can on her own. I think I’ve made it pretty clear how I feel.” Scott says, shaking his head as he turns towards the counter to get the cork out of the champagne bottle.

“I’ve watched her look at you with love in her eyes since we were all teenagers, and even more so during your comeback.” Chiddy says. “I’ve watched her comfort you, and watched her turn only to you for comfort. I’ve seen her fight to make you smile when you’re frustrated. I’ve watched her run her hands over you just like you do to her, especially when the choreography didn’t call for it.”

Scott sets his shaking hands down on the counter, blinking the tears from his eyes. 

“But most of all, I’ve seen the way you look at each other.” Chiddy says, clapping a hand on Scott’s shoulder. “This situation may seem messy, Scott, but if anyone can work it out, it’s you two. Tell her how you feel, because I think you’ll be surprised how she reacts.” 

Chiddy takes the bottle opener from Scott and pours the champagne into the glasses. He shoves two flutes into Scott’s hands and picks up the other two.

“You’re a good friend, Chiddy.” Scott says, clearing his throat. 

“I know, cause I can’t think of anyone else who would deal with your two’s bullshit.” Chiddy laughs. “Now let’s go celebrate you’re next twenty year project.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter! The next chapter will be the moment a lot of you have been waiting for, in which Tessa and Scott finally talk about their feelings.


	4. Chapter 4

Scott spends the next two weeks trying to figure out the best way to bring up his feelings to Tessa. She seems to sense the pending conversation, because every time he tries to have it with her she manages to evade him. One night she tells him she has a headache, and another it’s a stomach ache. The next night her mom Facetime's her right when he sits her down to talk, and the night after that she actually falls asleep on him on the couch before he can get a word out of his mouth.

He cooks her dinner on a Sunday afternoon, and they spend a lazy evening in. He watches a few episodes of The Office, and massages her feet in his lap, while she buries her nose in a pregnancy book. Scott feels bad about drawing her into a false sense of security with a quiet evening, knowing it will be anything but that once he starts talking. He knows that backing her into a corner is the worst way to have a conversation with her, so he tries his best to ease her into it. 

“We should talk.” He says, trying to keep his tone light and conversational. 

She lowers her book and gives him a hard look. “Scott…”

“No, Tess. You’ve been putting it off for two weeks and I’m done waiting.” He tells her, and she nods and jams her bookmark into her book. 

“Fine. Let’s talk then.” She says, crossing her arms. Scott tries to draw on all their marriage counseling training as he watches her wall herself off from him.

“I feel like we aren’t on the same page.” He starts out. “From what I understand, you want me here to help raise the baby and be your support system.”

“Yes.” Tessa replies slowly.

“Okay, I get that. But, when I offered to help you when you told me you were pregnant, you do understand that I was offering to be more than your friend, right?”

Tessa sighs and sets her book down on the coffee table. She straightens back up, hands clasped so tightly in her lap that her knuckles are white.

“Yes, I understood.” She says, her eyes cast down to her lap. “I know you were offering to be my baby’s father, and maybe something more even.”

“I’m sensing a but coming.” Scott says as she pauses, and she nods.

“I just don’t know if you get how big of a life decision you’re making.” She says, and that’s the last thing Scott expects her to say.

“I think I know what I’m getting myself in to.” He says, his tone harsher than he intends.

“Hear me out.” She says quickly. “Let’s say that I accepted your offer. What happens when you meet a nice girl a few years down the road? How do you explain that you’re fathering a baby with your skating partner even though the baby isn’t yours to begin with?”

“So you’re what, protecting me?” Scott asks, raising his eyebrows at her.

“Yes.” She says, as if the answer is obvious.

“Protecting me from a potentially messy situation with a hypothetical girlfriend that I don’t want to have?” He asks again, rubbing his hands up and down her shins soothingly.

“Yes. Someday you are going to want to get married and have kids-.” She stops talking and stares at him as what he said settles with her. “What do you mean you don’t want a girlfriend?”

“Oh, Tess.” He says, shaking his head at her, and quickly deciding that the best way to get on the same page is to just be brutally honest. “Don’t you get it? The only girl I want is you. You’re the only girl I’ve wanted for years. When I look down the road a few years I don’t see some other girl; the only thing I can see is us. I love you."

Tessa stares at him, but she makes no move to get up, which Scott thinks is a good sign.

“You’re just saying that because I’m pregnant.” She says, and Scott groans because it feels like they’ve taken one step forward and two steps back in the span of a minute.

“No, I’m not. I loved you long before you were pregnant.” He tells her.

She shakes her head at him. “That may be true, but it took me getting pregnant accidently with another man’s baby for you to come to me with this.”

“Jesus christ, Tessa.” He says, voice rising the more frustrated he gets. “You were scared and alone, and pregnant! The woman I have loved since I was nine was hurting and I wanted to fix that.”

“It’s not your job to fix me, Scott.” She says, eyes blazing with a mix of fear and anger. “It wasn’t your problem to begin with.”

“You’re my partner and my best friend. Setting how I feel about you aside, it’s my job to protect you.” He says. “I’m just sorry I couldn’t protect you from Josh.”

“I’m not a little girl, I didn’t need protecting.” She says, her voice rising to match his. “I liked Josh. He was nice to me and we had common interests.”

“Did you love him?” He asks bluntly.

“You don’t get to ask me that.” She replies, her voice venomous as she glares at him. 

“Did you love him?” He asks again, and she stares at him, refusing to break. “I just want to know, Tess. Because if you loved him and I’ve read this situation all wrong, then I’ll back away and let you do this on your own if that’s what you really want.”

She sits there in silence, both of their breathing ragged as they stare each other down. Scott swears he can feel his entire body shudder with the strength of his rapidly beating heart as he waits to see what she says.

“No.” She whispers after what feels like hours, and her shoulders slump.

“No?” He whispers back.

“No, I didn’t love him.” She replies. “I liked him because he kept my mind off of you. He was nothing like you, and that made him safe because I didn’t have to think about how much I missed you or how much I wished I was with you. Things with him were easy until they weren’t.”

Scott clings to her words, trying to push down the hope that blooms inside of him. 

“I dated him because after all we’ve been through together I wasn’t sure we could make this work, Scott.” Tessa continues. “I dated him even though I was in love with you, and I know that seems so stupid now. I couldn’t bear the thought of us losing our friendship if we failed at being together. It scared the hell out of me, and frankly it still does.”

“Tessa-.” He says softly, and she shakes her head at him, so he stops talking.

“I wanted this with you, and I still do, and I’m sorry that I didn’t say anything before. But, when I found out I was pregnant I realized that I may have ruined any chance I had with you.” Tessa says, tears spilling down her cheeks. “I spent those first weeks terrified that I might have lost you over my own stupidity. I messed up, Scott. I didn’t mean to get pregnant, and I don’t regret it now at all, but I was so scared.”

“I would have helped you.” Scott says softly, feeling tears form in his own eyes. “I wish you would have told me everything.”

“I know.” She says softly, clasping one of his hands in hers. “I had to do some soul searching to figure out my next step though, and when I realized I wanted this baby I knew things between us would be different. I mentally prepared myself to be a single mother, and then you went and offered to raise my baby with me.”

Her voice breaks, and she brushes a few tears from her cheeks.

“What you offered me was everything I wanted and more, but this was my mess to deal with, you know? It was my asshole of an ex that left me knocked up and with sole custody. It was my fault that I’d somehow gotten pregnant.” She cries. “I didn’t want to drag you into my mess like I always do. We always seem to unintentionally hurt each other, and I wasn’t sure this was a situation we could recover from. I didn’t want to saddle you with the responsibilities of fatherhood before you were ready for them.”

Scott swings her legs to the ground and pulls her into his arms. She cries against his chest and his own tears stream down his face onto her head where it’s tucked under his chin.

“That’s why you kept shutting me out. Why you kept saying ‘I’ instead of ‘we’ about the pregnancy, even though I told you I was all in.” Scott says, and he feels her nod. “Oh Tess, why didn’t you tell me all of this sooner?"

“I was scared.” She rasps out. “You came in and offered me the world, and I knew that if I lost you...”

“You will never lose me.” Scott says, pulling her back to cradle her face in his hands, forcing her to meet his eye. “You are not alone, and you’ll never be alone again. I want to be your baby’s father, and I want to be yours, Tess."

She nods, her eyes lighting up in a way Scott hasn’t seem them in weeks.

“I want to be yours too.” She cries, but the sound is half laughter, half sobs and Scott feels his heart melt. “I want you to be the father of my daughter.”

Their lips meet in a tangle of limbs and tears, but it’s everything Scott wanted and more.

\----------

The days following their conversation are filled with so much love and tenderness that Scott thinks his heart might burst. He spends all of his free time with Tessa, and she even starts coming back to the rink to spend time with him between sessions. 

Marie-France and Patch are over the moon about the two of them getting their shit together, and Scott sends Chiddy a nice bottle of wine in thanks for the push that got them talking. Tessa smiles more than Scott thinks she has since before she found out she was pregnant, and if he had thought she glowed before he was wrong. She was radiant in every sense of the word. Her skin was luminous and her hair glossy, and her good natured attitude returned in tenfold. Every time he caught her eye across the ice on the bench or across her kitchen while he cooked set his heart fluttering, and it he felt like he was falling in love with her all over again.

He slips in to the coaching office between his sessions on a warm, Tuesday afternoon and nestles onto the couch next to her. She avoids as much of the rink as she can during the day to avoid any rumors being spread, and she usually passes the time chatting with Patch, Marie, Romain or Sam, but today she sits with a notebook in her lap and a small book in her hand.

“What are you reading?” He asks her, pressing a kiss to her cheek. She sets the book down and puts her head on his shoulder.

“A book of baby names. I’m trying to make a list of ones I like.” She tells him. “It’s harder than I thought.”

“Do I get a say in this?” He asks her. They may be in a much better place than they were, but he still doesn’t want to overstep.

“Of course. You can look at my list if you want.” She says, handing him her notebook.

He glances through the lists of names, all marked with a “yes” or “maybe,” along with a list of names not to be used or considered. Her “yes” list isn’t too long, and he’s surprised to find he likes most of them.

Adaline  
Amelia  
Emmie  
Evelyn  
Jane  
Sadie  
Tallulah  
Victoria

“Yeah, so I’m going to veto Tallulah for the sake of our future child right now.” He tells her, and Tessa rolls her eyes at him. 

“Fine.” She huffs, taking the notebook back to scratch the name off the list. “But you like the others? I didn’t want to pick a name of someone we knew or competed against, and that was so much more difficult than I expected.”

“I can imagine. You know how many people we know named some form of Kaitlyn?” He asks, and Tessa giggles. 

“No kidding.” She says once her laughter dies down. “I can’t decide which one I want to name her though.”

Scott wraps an arm around her shoulders and runs a soothing hand up and down her arm. “You’ve got about four months left to figure that out, don’t stress about it.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” She sighs. “I just want to have a good name for her. Something strong and beautiful, and unique to just her.”

“We’ll figure it out.” Scott says, putting his free hand on her bump. “Right baby girl?”

The firm kick to his palm makes him laugh, as though the baby is agreeing with him. He rubs the spot where the baby is kicking away, knowing the relentless jabs tend to leave Tessa wincing after a while. 

“Ugh, please tell her to stop using mommy’s bladder as a punching bag.” Tessa moans, standing up and zipping up her baggy hoodie to hide her bump as she slips out of the room to head for the bathroom. Scott can’t help the smile on his face as he watches her walk away, even when Patch comes into the room complaining in rapid fire French about one of the senior teams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed the emotional mess this chapter was! The next one is just straight fluff as your reward for surviving through the worst of these two idiots not being able to communicate.


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is just straight fluff! It's also a little on the short side since I'm preparing some of the bigger chapters right now. Hope you all enjoy :)

Scott spends the five weeks following their conversation expecting the other shoe to drop and ruin the happiness that seems to bubble out of him and Tessa, but it never does. They continue to spend their days at the rink and their evenings at her place. Scott cooks all the meals, they share doing the dishes, and Tessa does their laundry. It’s a system that works, but also one that resorts in most of Scott’s clothing ending up in Tessa’s closet. Not that it matters, really, because more often than not he ends up spending the night on the couch or in her guest bedroom.

They get back to her apartment late one night after dinner at Patch and Marie’s, and he’d planned on going back to his place for once. His plans change as Tessa sleepily pulls him down the hallway and into her bedroom. 

“Are you sure?” Scott asks her; firmly planting his feet on the floor and not letting her tug him onto the bed, as much as he wants to flop down on it with her.

“We’re just going to sleep, Scott.” She says, shrugging at him. “Your clothes are here anyway.”

She holds her hands out to him, and helps pull her off the bed. Before she can walk away to change he pulls her into his arms, nestling his face into her neck. She runs one of her hands soothingly through his hair, and wraps the other one around his shoulder. They stay like that for a minute, taking each other in and sinking their breaths as if they were preparing for a competition. A fluttering of kicks knocks against Scott’s stomach, and he chuckles at the feeling. At thirty weeks pregnant the baby’s movements are strong, and Scott reaches a hand down to rub at Tessa’s stomach.

“Don’t punch your mother.” He says, and he can feel the baby wiggle as he talks. “It’s bedtime.”

“She doesn’t care.” Tessa moans. “I’ve been up late every night this week with her constant movements.”

Scott gives her a sympathetic hum, and feels the baby settle down after a few moments. They both pull out of their hug, and Scott gently pushes her in the direction of her bathroom. He can hear her humming as she goes about removing her makeup and brushing her teeth. He strips down to his boxers and waits for her to finish in the so he can have his turn. She nods for him to go ahead as she comes back in her room with a tube of shea butter in hand, and he quickly goes about brushing his teeth. When he sits down on the bed next to her a few minutes later, she’s rubbing the lotion over her baby bump. 

“That help with the stretch marks?” He asks her, and she shrugs at him as she squeezes more lotion onto her hand.

“My mom swears by it, but I’m not sure it’s doing much.” She rubs some across the top of her stomach, and Scott can see the baby move under her hand.

“Go to sleep, baby.” Tessa groans, and Scott tries not to chuckle as the baby wiggles again. 

“Get comfortable and let me try something.” He tells Tessa, and she nods, settling on to her side. Scott scoots in close to her after shutting off the light, and lets Tessa position him how she wants like a human body pillow. Once she confirms she’s comfy, Scott lightly strokes her belly, trying to ignore how intimate and new this still feels to him.

“Time to sleep, baby girl.” He says softly, continuing his slow strokes. “Your mom’s tired and needs to rest.”

Scott’s not sure the baby is getting any calmer, but he can feel Tessa curling into his side as her breathing slows. He kisses the top of her head, and he can feel her smile sleepily against his chest.

“Try singing.” She mumbles. “I hum to her and sometimes that works.”

“I don’t sing.” Scott reminds her, but she just burrows deeper into his chest. He sighs, trying to think of something to sing or at least hum, but he can’t think of anything he knows all the words now that she’s put him on the spot.

“As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” Scott sings softly. “I take a look at my life and realize there’s nothing left.”

Tessa erupts into giggles against him, which makes him laugh, and the baby kicks hard against his hand.

“Don’t sing Gangsta’s Paradise to our unborn child.” Tessa laughs, and Scott’s laughter dies off as he hears what she said. “Scott?”

“Sorry, yeah, I just…you said ‘our unborn child.’ That’s the first time you’ve referred to her as ours.” Scott tells her, blinking back the tears that have sprung to his eyes.

“She is ours.” Tessa says, raising her head and placing a kiss on his lips. Scott feels like heart might beat out of his chest, because this moment is everything he’s ever wanted. 

\----------

The decision is made before they head home to London for Canada Day that Scott will move in to Tessa’s apartment. It doesn’t take much effort to move his personal belongings to her place, seeing as his apartment had come furnished. His Maple Leafs memorabilia is scattered amongst her framed pictures of Paris and books on the shelves. Half of his kitchen supplies had already been at her place to begin with, so all that’s left to really pack and move in are his towels and bed sheets. For such an easy move it seems like a big deal as Tessa contemplates where to hang the picture of his family in the living room and how to display his medals next to hers. 

“So I thought that maybe we should start redoing the guest room for the nursery.” Tessa tells him as they pack their suitcases for the trip home. “I’ve only got two full months left to get it done, and I want to get it ready soon in case she comes early.”

Scott sucks in a breath at her words, because two months just doesn’t seem like a lot of time. They’ve got a room to paint, furniture to buy and god knows what else to get to help baby proof the apartment. He's going to be a father...

“You’ve got that nervous look of yours going right now.” Tessa points out, breaking his train of thought. 

“We have so much to do.” Scott blurts out, and she smiles softly at him. “I was just thinking of all things we have to buy and how much paint we’ll need.”

She pulls him to sit next to her on the bed, and she keeps folding things into her suitcase. “We don’t need to paint anything. I thought we’d keep the walls white.”

He rolls his eyes at her determination to keep everything white, which earns him a pill of clothes to help her fold.

“I already picked out the furniture, so we just need to pick everything up and get it set up. I ordered the stroller and car seat last week, and we can pick up all the odds and ends the closer we get.” She explains. 

Scott can’t help but stare at her in amazement. “I’m really glad you’re such a planner. Let me see what you’ve picked.”

She grabs her laptop for him, and pulls up the bookmarked pages. The furniture is all white, which doesn’t shock Scott in the absolute slightest. It’s all very elegant, with a slight rustic feel to the design, and he can imagine himself dressing the baby on the changing table or putting her to sleep in the crib. Tessa’s also bookmarked some other items, including curtains in a soft green and a rocking chair with matching padding.

“I was thinking of making that green our accent color, along with some pale yellow stuff.” She tells him. 

“It looks great Tess, really.” He tells her, and as excited as he is to go home to London and Ilderton, he’s even more excited to come back and create their daughter’s room together. 

\----------

They make good time on the drive to London, and both crash in Tessa’s bedroom at her house that night. They’re up and on the road again the next morning to make the drive to Kate’s cottage, where they’re meeting the rest of the Virtue and Moir clans for the holiday. They’re the last to arrive, and are greeted by all of their nieces and nephews. He lets them pull Tessa away while he unloads the car, and wanders outside a little later to see Tessa surrounded by the kids and pretty much all their female family members.

“Scott!” Kate greets him with a hug. “I’m so glad you were both able to make it.”

“Me too.” He tells her. “Tessa and I were both looking forward to this weekend for sure.”

She gets pulled away by Casey looking for more beer, so Scott makes his way over to where Tessa is sitting by the water, with his mother and her sister on either side of her. He wants to sit next to Tessa, so he flicks the condensation of his beer at Jordan until she moves with a huff. Tessa looks at ease taking in the sun and his mother’s chatter, and he presses a kiss to her shoulder as he sits next to her, dangling his feet into the water off the dock. 

They pass the afternoon talking and laughing as the kids run around the beach. Kate brings out platter after platter of food, and they end up with an adults-only campfire that night after settling all the kids in one room to sleep. Scott can feel Tessa dozing against his arm the later it gets, and he eventually gets her on her feet and on the way back to the cottage. Kate joins them, helping him guide Tessa back without her tripping over things she can’t see past her growing baby bump. Tessa gives him a sleepy peck to the cheek when they get inside, and she heads off for the bathroom to get changed for bed.

“Do I need to find somewhere for you to sleep or are you two okay to share?” Kate asks him, giving him a knowing look. He rubs a hand sheepishly over the back of his neck and ducks his head.

“We share in Montreal now too, so we are more than fine to share here.” He tells her.

“So Tessa mentioned.” Kate replies, raising an eyebrow at him. “I’m sure Jordan will give you the same talk tomorrow, but I just want to make sure you’re absolutely ready for this with her. It's a big commitment, more so with her being pregnant.”

“I’ve been ready for years, Kate.” He tells her. “I’ve loved her for a long time, and she knows that.”

Kate nods at him, her tense look fading into a smile. 

“Good, I’m happy for you two.” She says, and Scott can feel relief flood through him. “Based on what she’s told me you’ve really proved to her just how committed you are to her and the baby.”

“But I haven’t proved it to you?” He asks her, and she tilts her head as she stares him down.

“I trust you with her more than anyone.” Kate says. “But, she’s my baby and my youngest daughter, Scott, and I always want to protect her. She's had a rough few months and I want to make sure she's happy. When Tessa has the baby you’ll understand.” 

“Do you trust me enough to give me your blessing to ask her to marry me?” He asks, and Kate gasps. “I know it seems fast, and maybe it is. I haven’t even gotten a ring yet and I don’t even know when I’m going to ask her. I just want to know that you’d be okay with it when the time comes.”

Kate pulls him into a hug, and presses a kiss to his cheek. 

“Of course, Scotty.” She says, eyes shimmering with tears. “Tessa can make her own decisions, as you well know, but I am more than happy to give you my blessing.” 

“Thank you.” He says, kissing Kate’s cheek back.

“Now about a ring for her…” Kate starts, and Scott eagerly sits down with her in the kitchen to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, let me know what you think!


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the latest :)

After a brief stop in London where Kate hands off Tessa’s grandmother’s ring to Scott, they head back to Montreal. Scott manages to keep the ring box hidden in his shorts during the drive, and then hides it in the safe at Gadbois until he can get it to a jewelers. 

Tessa’s next four weeks of pregnancy seem to roll by, and with them the nursery slowly starts to pull together. The strollers and car seat arrive the week after they get back from London, and Scott enlists Patch’s help in picking up and assembling the furniture. Marie-France tags along, claiming she wants to see Tessa, but they all know it’s so that she and Tessa can laugh over the boys’ inability to figure out the directions. 

The boys tackle the changing table first while Tessa, Marie-France and Billie-Rose all settle in the living room with a plate of fresh cookies and plenty of rink gossip to go around. The occasional curse word rings out from the nursery, both in English and French, and the girls snicker at the noise. The clatter of tools and sharp tones of the boys arguing over the directions fills the apartment for several hours, mixing with the girls’ laughter. By that evening the boys emerge, both looking thoroughly exhausted, but with triumphant grins on their faces. 

“Close your eyes.” Scott says after helping Tessa off the couch. He wraps his arms around her shoulders, shielding her eyes with his hands. He walks her slowly down the hallway and nods for Billie to open the door to the nursery. He leads Tessa in, and then uncovers her eyes. Scott hears her gasp and watches as tears spring to her eyes as she takes in the room. He’d made sure to follow her directions about furniture placement carefully, and it had paid off based on her reaction. 

The white crib stands beneath the window, and the green curtains Tessa had picked are draped carefully in a way that filters in the soft, evening light. The changing table is to the left, and the rocker to the right. A large bookshelf is placed along the back wall, filled with books, toys and a few boxes of diapers and clothes he knew Tessa would want to sort through before putting away.

“It’s wonderful. Thank you both so much.” Tessa says, pulling Patch in for a hug and kissing Scott. Marie-France nudges Billie forward, and the girl presents Tessa with a cloth bag.

“I wanted to give the baby some of my old books.” Billie explains, blushing. “I thought maybe she’d like them, even if they are in French.”

Tessa pulls the girl into a hug, quietly thanking her for being so thoughtful. The Lauzon-Dubreuil’s head out not long after that, leaving the apartment in silence after a long day of noise. Scott cleans up the kitchen, throwing away empty pizza boxes and wiping up cookie crumbs. Tessa had said she was going to get ready for bed, but the light spilling out from the nursery gives her away and Scott stops there. He leans against the door frame, watching as Tessa rocks slowly in the rocking chair.

She’s got her eyes closed and her head tilted back, resting for what seems to be the first time that day. She slowly rubs a hand up and down her bump, which seems to have grown so much from 30 weeks to 34 weeks. It takes his breath away seeing just how beautiful she looks in that moment. He sneaks his phone out of his pocket and snaps a quick picture, knowing it's a sight he wants to remember forever.

\----------

Scott convinces Patch to come to the jewelers with him, and as soon as they entire the small shop he feels out of his element. Diamonds seem to glisten at him from every display case, and the antique ring in the box in his hand starts to feel like maybe it won’t be enough for Tessa.

“Maybe I should get her something bigger.” Scott mutters while they wait to be helped, and Patch shakes his head. 

“No, I think Tessa will love the ring you have.” Patch tells him. “It’s got family history and old-school charm. Once the jeweler fixes it up she’ll love it.”

“Can I help you, gentlemen?” The jeweler asks before Scott can reply to Patch, and he steps up to the counter. 

“Yeah, I’d like to have a ring resized and cleaned up.” Scott tells him. “It’s my partner’s grandmother’s engagement ring.”

He opens the box, and the jeweler hums appreciatively over the ring.

“What a beautiful design. Early 1900’s art deco from what I can tell.” The jewelers says, putting the ring under a magnifying glass. “The marquise diamond looks to be in good shape, and I can tighten the prongs to ensure it’s snug in the setting. The emerald accents around the diamond and down the sides of the ring all seem to be in good shape as well. I’d be happy to clean and resize this for you.”

Scott breathes a sigh of relief, glad he doesn’t have to worry about picking out a new ring due to the age of the current one.

“When can you have it ready?” He asks, as the jeweler fills out an estimate and work order. 

“Two to three weeks. It’s wedding season right now, so I’m doing a lot of last minute resizings and cleanings.” The jeweler says, and Scott nods.

“The sooner the better, please.” Patch chimes in. “I’ve known this man for many years, and he isn’t the most patient. The last thing I want is to help him hide this secret for a month.”

\----------

Scott’s demonstrating a new turn to his junior team a few weeks later when he sees Patch jog from the hallway to the bench. 

“Scott!” He calls, gesturing for him to come over. 

“Give me a minute, guys.” Scott tells the pair. “Try and work on the step sequence and then we’ll go from there.” 

They both nod, and Scott quickly skates over the boards. Patch shoves his guards into his hand, gesturing for him to put them on. 

“What’s going on?” Scott asks him, a feeling of dread starting to creep down his spine. 

“Just get your guards on and come with me.” Patch replies, keeping his voice calm. Scott can see past his cool demeanor though, and can tell that something is wrong. Patch stops him before they enter the coaching office, and grips his shoulders. “You need to stay calm.”

“What’s wrong with Tessa?” Scott immediately responds, because Patch wouldn’t be acting like this if it wasn’t something about Tess.

“She’s having some cramping.” Patch explains, and Scott tries to rush past him. “Scott, listen to me. She’s nervous and she needs you calm. Marie-France is pretty sure they are just practice contractions, but they have Tessa spooked.”

Scott takes a deep breath and exhales, trying to calm his racing heart. He nods at Patch, who opens the door for him and lets him in.

“You okay, T?” He asks her as he sits down next to her on the couch. 

“No, I don’t like Braxton Hicks contractions at all.” She tells him, gritting her teeth as she grabs his hand. 

“They’re very irregular, so it’s likely not real labor.” Marie-France tells him. “I’d suggest going to the hospital to get her checked out though. It can’t hurt to make sure everything is okay, especially since she really seems to be feeling them.” 

“Can you guys cover for me? I can come back once we find out what’s going on.” Scott reasons, and both Marie and Patch shake their heads at him.

“Don’t worry about us, just take care of her.” Patch says, and then helps him get Tessa to her feet. She shuffles into his side, and he wraps an arm around her lower back to support her. It’s a slow walk out to the car, and Tessa remains silent for most of the drive to the hospital.

“Tess, talk to me.” Scott says, desperate to know what’s going on inside her head. 

“I’m scared.” She whimpers, and Scott takes one hand off the wheel to hold her hand. “It’s too soon.”

“T, you’re 34 weeks. Baby girl would be just fine if you had her today, but like Marie said, it’s probably just Braxton Hicks.” 

“It’s feels like a lot of pressure in my lower stomach though. What if this is it?” Tessa asks, and Scott can see her trying to wipe away her tears without him noticing. 

“Then we’ll have a baby.” Scott replies. “We’ll get through this together either way.”

His answer seems to satisfy her, and she settles back down as they pull into the hospital parking lot. Marie sends him a text just as they are about to get out of the car that she called ahead for them, and to pull straight to the back entrance to avoid being seen in the ER. Scott is beyond grateful, knowing the last thing Tessa would want would be pictures of her in the hospital all over social media. Tessa’s doctor is waiting for them at the back entrance, and she helps Tessa out of the car and into the hospital as Scott circles back around to park. A nurse takes him to the exam room once he's inside, and Tessa looks pale under the harsh, florescent lighting. He sits down on a stool by her head, smoothing her hair back to try and soothe her. 

“The fetal monitor is showing a healthy heart rate for baby so far, and it isn’t picking up any contractions. I’d like to do an ultrasound and also an internal check to see if you’ve started to dilate at all, Tessa.” The doctor says.

“That’s fine with me.” Tessa tells her, looking slightly more relieved. “I just didn’t expect the Braxton Hicks to be so uncomfortable.”

“At 34 weeks it’s common for them to be a little stronger. It's not unusual for your abdomen to harden, and for contractions to be irregular in intensity and length.” The doctor explains. “Generally they are painless, but depending on the strength they can cause some mild pain along with pressure in your lower abdomen.” 

“I’ve definitely been feeling that pressure, and a little bit of pain.” Tessa says. “I feel bad for making such a fuss, it just scared me.”

“It’s alright, Tessa.” The doctor says reassuringly. “I’d rather you be safe than sorry.”

Scott watches closely when the ultrasound is done, and he can’t help but be amazed at how much the baby has grown. The baby is head down according to the technician, but doesn’t seem to be ready to come out yet. Tessa passes the internal exam with flying colors and no dilation whatsoever. 

“So I’m definitely not in labor?” Tessa asks, letting Scott help her sit up after all the monitors have been taken off of her.

“You’re not in labor.” The doctor confirms. “You just have a bad case of Braxton Hicks. Make sure you stay hydrated, and try warm showers and walks to alleviate the pain.”

“We can do that.” Scott tells her. “Anything else?”

“Just keep an eye on those contractions. If they get worse or you notice anything that doesn’t seem right, don’t hesitate to come back here.” The doctor replies. “Try to rest as much as you can too.”

They both thank the doctor, and when Scott gets in the car in the parking lot he puts his forehead against the steering wheel, taking a few calming breaths before pulling around to get Tessa. She still has six more weeks to go, and with the start of the Junior Grand Prix circuit coming up he can’t help but feel on edge. It suddenly feels like everything is happening at once and like they’re running out of time. But, when he pulls up and watches Tessa walk to the car, with one hand pressed to the top of her belly and her skin glowing in the morning light, it’s like the world slows down for a second.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is a big one...and should be up tomorrow night! Thank you all so much for the wonderful comments and feedback. It really motivates me to keep writing.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a long one, and for good reason :)

The next two weeks seem to fly by between Scott preparing his junior team for the first competition of the Junior Grand Prix and Tessa taking it slow as she approaches her last few weeks of pregnancy. August is blistering hot outside, and Tessa spends as much time in the cool, air conditioning of the rink as she can. Her Braxton Hicks contractions continue to be a nuisance, causing them both a lack in sleep. 

Scott gives his team the Sunday before they fly to Lake Placid off to get some rest, and he spends the day helping Tessa put the finishing touches on the nursery. She’s hit her nesting phase, and while she’s supposed to be resting, she spends a lot of the day tidying the house and doing laundry. 

“Dinner in fifteen minutes, T!” Scott calls out to her. He listens closely for her response, knowing she’s upstairs in their room putting away laundry. It’s suspiciously quiet, and he makes sure the lasagna he’s making isn’t burning before heading up the stairs to find her. 

“Did you not hear me?” Scott asks as he walks into the room. Her back is to him as she faces their dresser, the drawer full of their socks open in front of her. “Dinner is ready in-.”

She whirls around to face him, and he stops talking when he sees what’s in her hand. 

“Is this what I think it is?” She asks, her voice tight with emotion as she clutches the ring box holding the engagement ring that he had just gotten back from the jewelers the night before.

He swallows. “It is.”

She nods, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. She puts the box back in the drawer and shuts it before walking up to him.

“You know I love you, Scott, and you know that I want that with you down the road.” She says, unshed tears making her eyes shimmer. “But, right now I need to focus on the baby.”

“I know, that’s why I hadn’t asked yet.” He tells her. He’d considered asking her before the baby came, but he knew she would maybe take that the wrong way and decided it was best to wait.

“Can we make a deal?” She asks him, head cocked to the side. He nods for her to go ahead. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready for that box to come back out again.”

“What exactly do I get out of that deal?” Scott asks with a chuckle, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“The assurance that my answer will be yes when you ask me.” She says. He knew she would say yes, but to hear her say it out loud makes his heart hammer in his chest. He pulls her into a kiss, the two of them getting lost in each other.

“Scott…” She whispers against his lips when they stop to catch their breath. “I hate to ruin the moment, but the baby and I could really go for that lasagna about now.”

He laughs, and pulls her to her feet to, guiding her downstairs to the kitchen.

\----------

Scott flies out with his team, along with Patch and his team, for their first competition of the Junior Grand Prix the second week of August. He’s a nervous wreck leaving Tessa back in Montreal, but both she and Marie promise to call if anything happens. She’s only 37 weeks along anyway and Lake Placid isn’t too far from Montreal, which was the only reason he had agreed to go in the first place. He tries to stay focused on his team, helping them review choreography at the rink during practice and being the emotional support they both need. 

His team places second in their short dance after completing their best run through yet, and he lets them go out to eat with their parents that night as a reward. He calls Tessa that while eating a room service dinner, eager to hear how she is. She wants to chat about how the Gadbois teams are doing, but Scott can sense she’s deflecting the conversation away from herself.

“Tess, are you sure you’re okay?” He asks her, and he can hear her sigh.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She replies. “My back has been pretty sore all day and it has me a little grouchy.”

“I wish I was there to help you.” Scott tells her, and he really wishes he was. When he made his promise to Tessa to be there for her, he meant every step of the way. “I can come home, Tess.”

“No, your team needs you.” She says firmly. “You’ll be home Sunday night anyway. That’s less than two days.”

“I know, I just worry about you and the baby.” Scott says. “Promise me you’ll call if anything changes?”

“Of course.” Tess replies. “Now tell me your game plan for tomorrow’s free dance...”

\----------

Scott’s team takes third in the free dance the next day, placing them second overall in the competition. Unlike Sochi when all he wanted to do was bury his silver in his sock drawer, he’s excited to see the medals around the necks of his students. It’s a huge stepping stone for them in their young junior career. By the time he’s done the press he needs to and gets his things from the locker room, he’s got a series of excited texts from Tessa and Marie-France. He doesn’t read any of them, and calls Tessa directly.

“They did so well!” Tessa says as soon as she answers, and Scott can hear the smile in her voice. “I’m so proud of them, and you.”

“Thanks T; I’m proud of them too.” He says. “I’m getting ready to catch a cab back to the hotel and maybe have a drink with Patch, so I can’t talk too long. I just wanted to check in with you.”

“I’m fine, Scott.” She huffs. 

“How’s your back?” He presses, knowing she won’t give him an honest answer in order to keep him from worrying.

“Still hurts, but its fine.” Tessa replies. “I’m 37 weeks pregnant, Scott. Back pain is normal.”

“Promise me you’ll call Marie if it gets worse. I don’t want you alone.” He tells her as he walks outside the rink, and she hums an affirmative noise back. “Tess?”

“Yeah, sorry.” She says. “The baby was shifting around and it distracted me. She’s settled kind of low.”

“Tessa, are you sure you’re not in labor?” Scott asks, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. 

“I’m not having contractions except for the Braxton Hicks.” Tessa says, her voice taking a defensive tone. “I think I'd know if the baby was coming, and I’ve got three weeks to go still.”

“Okay, okay.” He replies, trying to calm her down before she works herself up. “I’m just worried Tess.”

“I know, and I’m sorry for snapping at you.” Tessa says, and Scott can hear her swallow thickly. “I haven’t been sleeping very well and between that and the back pain I’m a mess.”

“A beautiful mess.” Scott says softly, and he hears her laugh. His cab pulls up, and Scott walks slowly towards it. “I’ve gotta go T, my ride is here. I’ll call you when I’m on my way home tomorrow, okay?”

“Sounds good. I love you.” Tessa says, and Scott can’t fight the smile on his face. 

“I love you too, Tessa.”

\----------

Scott wakes up to the ringing of his cell phone, and he thinks it’s his alarm until he sees the clock in his hotel room reads 4:35 a.m. 

“Hello?” He says groggily, rubbing a hand over his eyes. 

“Scott? It’s Marie-France.”

He sits up quickly, reaching to turn on the bedside lamp. 

“It’s Tessa isn’t it?” He asks, feeling the dread build in his stomach. 

“She’s in labor.” Marie says softly. “She called me a few hours ago because she thought she was having contractions. By the time I got to your apartment her water had broken.”

“Shit.” Scott says under his breath, and he feels like his heart is going to beat out of his chest. “Is she okay? Is the baby okay?”

“They’re both fine.” Marie assures him. “I’ve got her checked in at St. Mary’s. Do you want to talk to her?”

“Please, thanks Marie-France.” Scott says, and he hears the phone shifting around. He gets up and starts throwing clothes into his suitcase.

“Scott?” Tessa says, and the sound of her voice nearly sends him into tears. He can hear how nervous she is in the way her voice cracks around his name. 

“I’m getting ready to leave now. I’ll get a rental car and drive, okay?” Scott assures her. “That’s three hours tops.”

“It’s okay. The doctor checked me and I’m only a few centimeters dilated.” Tessa says. “I feel bad though, you’ll have to miss your team’s exhibition piece. They worked so hard on it.”

Scott shakes his head, because only Tessa would be so selfless to think about his team when she’s in labor. “Tess, honey, I think you having the baby is a little more important. I’ve got the whole rest of the season to see their exhibition.”

She hums at him and then goes silent, but Scott can hear her breathing slowly over the line. 

“She’s having a contraction.” He hears Marie’s voice in the background. “Give her a second.”

“You’ve got this T.” He says quietly. “You’re so strong.”

He hears Tessa exhale loudly, and he breathes a sigh of relief. 

“Hurry up.” Tessa says shakily, and Scott does. 

\----------

After a very long drive to the boarder, an argument with an inexperienced boarder control guard and a ride from a kind hearted police officer, he's rushing to Tessa’s hospital room three and a half hours later. The sight he sees when he walks into her room nearly knocks him off his feet. 

Tessa’s on her side curled around her bump, and her hair is on top her head in a bun. Her eyes are shut, and the hair framing her face is damp from where Marie-France is running a cool cloth over her face and neck. Marie notices him and smiles, beckoning him in. 

“Tessa, chérie, Scott is here.” Marie-France says quietly, and Tessa blearily opens her eyes. He walks quickly to her side, taking her hands in his own. 

“I’m so sorry, Tess. I should have been here.” Scott apologizes, and Tessa gives him a small smile and shakes her head. 

“I’m the one who didn’t realize early labor was starting yesterday. It’s not your fault.” Tessa tells him. “You’re here now, that’s what matters.”

“Things are moving fast and she was sitting at five centimeters when the doctor checked her last. I’m going to go home and get some sleep. Let me know if you guys need anything.” Marie says, pressing a kiss to both their heads. 

“Thank you Marie, you’re a god send.” Tessa says as she leaves. Scott picks up where Marie-France left off, gently wiping Tessa’s forehead with the cool cloth. She hums appreciatively, and Scott presses a kiss to her forehead. 

“I couldn’t have done this without her.” Tessa tells him. “We're giving the baby the middle name Marie.”

Scott nods, and she squeezes his hand as a contraction starts. He talks her through it, reassuring her of how strong she is and how amazed he is by her. The doctor walks in as it starts to ease off, and approaches the bed once Tessa’s breathing has gone back to normal. 

“Let’s do a quick exam and see where you’re at.” The doctor says, and Tessa nods, shifting her weight and lying down on her back. The doctor lifts her gown, and Scotts squeezes Tessa’s hand, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. Tessa grimaces in discomfort and grips his hand tightly back. 

“You’re doing fantastic, Tessa.” The doctor tells her, pulling off her rubber glove. “You’re sitting at seven and a half centimeters, and your contractions are six minutes apart. I’m very pleased with that.”

Tessa breathes out a sigh of relief, and Scott presses a kiss to the side of her head as he helps her sit up. The doctor leaves them, and Tessa squeezes her eyes shut as another contraction starts.   
It goes on like that for another two hours, and Scott can see how tired Tessa is getting as they start in to the third hour of him being there. 

“Maybe you should consider an epidural; it would help you get some rest. You’ve been at this since 2 a.m.” He says, and Tessa shakes her head against his collarbone from where she is curled against his chest. 

“I want to do this all natural.” She says, and Scott knows she does. Tessa had been adamant on sticking as close as possible to her birth plan when they had discussed it the week before, and an epidural was most certainly not in the plan.

“Okay.” Scott tells her, and she groans against him as another contraction starts. 

She’s baring them like a champ, and Scott’s amazed at how well she’s doing so far in. He can feel when the contraction eases off as Tessa slumps into him, and he shifts her in his arms and offers her some ice chips. She gratefully takes a few in her mouth, humming around them in relief. 

“You’re so strong.” He whispers against her temple when she settles her head back against his chest. “I love you.”

“Love you too.” She mutters, and he can see her eyes slip shut, taking advantage of the brief break between contractions. He knows that won’t last long with the time between them getting shorter and shorter. 

It takes another hour for the doctor to show up and check on them again. Scott feels like someone’s punched him in the gut each time he sees Tessa grit her teeth against the pain as a few tears slip out of the corners of her eyes. He wipes them away each time, pressing tender kisses to her cheeks and forehead. 

“You’re really close, Tessa.” The doctor says. “Only one more centimeter to go.”

Scott can hear Tessa curse under her breath, and he rubs a hand soothingly up and down her arm. 

“If you want pain relief now is the time to do it.” The doctor tells her. Tessa shakes her head, grimacing at the pain as another contraction starts to build. She closes her eyes, and Scott recognizes that face from their competition days. She’s clearly focusing in on trying to stay relaxed, and he knows not to interrupt that process. 

“What can I do to help her?” He asks the doctor, desperate to do something other than sit there and watch Tess cry. 

“She’s doing great.” The doctor assures him. “Just keep doing what you’re doing. If she feels up to it, a change in position can’t hurt.”

He thanks her, focusing back on Tessa as she lets out a low moan. The contraction eases off after a minutes or so, but the tears don’t stop streaming down her cheeks like they had with the last few.

“I can’t do this.” She rasps out, letting her head fall on to Scott’s shoulder. He rubs her back in soothing strokes, breathing deeply in an attempt to get her to match him. 

“You’re already doing it, T.” He reminds her. “Only a little longer, and then our baby will be here.”

She whimpers, clutching at his arms as the sharp pains ebb and flow, and he holds her back tightly. She shifts on the bed helplessly as though she’s trying to escape the pain, and Scott stands up and helps her off the bed.

“Maybe this will help.” He says, holding her to him and letting her hang off him with her arms around his neck. She nods against his chest, and Scott closes his eyes and rests his head on top of hers. He slows his breaths, and she syncs with him quickly. It’s almost like their hugging to gear up for a performance, and he supposes that they are. He thinks this is more nerve wracking then any Olympics though, and what was coming out of this event was worth more than any gold medal. 

“I’m really starting to regret not getting an epidural.” Tessa mutters into his collarbone, and Scott pulls her back to look in to her eyes. 

“You still could.” He says. “No point in sitting here in pain, T.”

She shakes her head. “I’m too close to the end now. I want to be clear minded. I’m going to do this.”

He watches her shake and turn pale as another contraction starts, her confidence quickly slipping away, and he wants nothing more in the world than to take her pain away. She groans loudly, her breathing coming out in panting gasps. 

“Tessa, breathe.” He reminds her. “You’re okay, I’ve got you.”

The contraction seems to last and last, and Tessa slumps into him hard when it ends. The next few in a row are like that, and Scott feels sick watching her as she fights her way through them. 

“Scotty…” She whines as another one peaks, and she lets out a soft cry. He doesn’t know what to do, and he can feel his eyes burning with tears of his own. She pulls away after the contraction ends, grabbing her water off the tray by the bed. He tries to blink back the tears before she notices, but it’s Tessa, and she doesn’t miss anything when it comes to him. 

“Please don’t cry.” She says, taking his hand in hers. “I’m okay.”

“You’re not okay.” Scott says, swallowing around the lump in his throat. “You’re in pain, and it kills me to see you like this, Tess.”

She gives him a small smile, the first he’s seen from her in hours. She pulls him to her, rubbing a soothing hand through his hair. 

“I won’t lie to you, this is the worst pain I’ve ever experienced, but it’ll be worth it.” She says. He nods into her neck, and keeps his head there as she rides out another contraction. She grunts, hands clenching into the fabric of his shirt, and Scott can feel the change in tension along her back as she edges closer to having the baby. 

“Get the doctor.” She rasps out suddenly. “I think the baby’s coming now.”

Scott helps her to sit on the bed and scrambles out to the nurses’ desk, and everything is a blur as a few nurses and their doctor head back to Tessa’s room to set up. The nurses are pushing sheets under Tessa and setting up trays with instruments that Scott doesn’t want anywhere near Tessa or the baby. The doctor is checking the baby’s stats and Tessa’s and Scott feels a bit like throwing up because this is actually happening. 

“Okay Tessa, give me a big push.” The doctor coaches as Tessa moans around another contraction, and Scott grabs her hand in his as she pushes. Her hand is like a vice, but he can’t bring himself to care. If this is what brings her even a fraction of relief he’d gladly let her break his hand. 

“Excellent Tessa, the baby’s head is already starting to come out. Another big push for me.” The doctor says. Tessa’s hair is wet with sweat, and she’s so, so pale, but Scott doesn’t think he’s ever seen her look more beautiful. He presses a kiss to her knuckles, and lets their joined hands rest against his chest. Tessa lets out a ragged breath and moans, and Scott runs his fingers through her hair. She turns her head into his touch, and he presses a kiss to her forehead. 

“You’re doing so well.” He tells her, and she nods. He smiles at her, and she pushes again as the next contraction starts. She lets out a cry, and the nurses all encourage her to keep pushing. 

“I know it’s a lot of pain right now, but the head is almost out, Tessa.” The doctor says, and Tessa whimpers. 

“Just breathe Tess, you’re okay.” Scott whispers into her ear, and she squeezes her eyes shut. She lets out a pained sound Scott’s never heard her make in all his years of knowing her, and the hurt look on her face crushes him. 

“Do either of you want to look?” A nurse asks. “The head is out.” 

Scott looks up in surprise, amazed at how fast things were moving. Tessa shakes her head no, and Scott does too. He’s not looking until the baby is safely in Tessa’s arms. 

“Another big push for the shoulders and it’ll be over.” The doctor says, and Tessa grimaces as she pushes again.

“Holy shit.” Tessa curses between pushes, and Scott squeezes the back of her neck. 

“You’re so strong, T.” He tells her. “It’s almost over.”

“Last push Tessa, come on.” The doctor encourages her, and Scott helps her sit up a bit to push, her energy thoroughly drained.

Tessa lets out a shocked gasp, and then their daughter is screaming as if she wants the whole world to know she’s here. Scott lets out a relieved laugh, tears leaking down his cheeks. The doctor places the baby on Tessa’s chest, and then Tessa she’s doing her laughing sob. Their daughter is pink, and small, and has the most beautiful brown hair that reminds him of when Tessa was little. 

“Congratulations! The baby looks great so far.” The doctor says, and Scott think he mumbles out a ‘thanks,’ but he’s enthralled by the sight of the baby screaming on Tessa’s chest.

“It’s okay, sweetheart.” Tessa cries, stroking the tiny girl’s back. “That was pretty rough, huh?”

The baby’s cries tamper off slightly at Tessa’s voice, and Scott sniffles. He gently places his hand on the baby’s head, his thumb caressing her fine hair and ears. 

“Hey baby girl, I’m so glad you’re here.” Scott says, and Tessa looks up at him and smiles. He can see how exhausted she is, but even covered in sweat with dark circles under her eyes she’s glowing.

“She’s perfect.” Tessa says to him softly, and Scott nods and smiles back at her. 

“She is. She’s so beautiful, Tess.” He tells her, and then presses a kiss to Tessa’s lips. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me.” Tessa giggles, and the baby whines at the movement. Tessa readjusts her, and baby settles back down as the nurses bustle around them cleaning up and getting the exam table ready for the baby. “If anything I have you to thank. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“You did this all on your own, T. You were so brave and so strong.” Scott says, and he swallows around the lump in his throat. “I love you, and I love her.”

“Alright, I need to take the baby for a minute to check her over, and then I’ll bring her right back.” A nurse says, and Tessa pouts as her daughter is lifted off her chest. Scott kisses the pout away, and they watch their daughter in the distance together.

\----------

After Tessa is cleaned up and napping in bed, Scott sends pictures of the baby to their friends and family. He can’t stop looking at her, and his mother thankfully puts up with him sending picture after picture of the tiny baby. He sets his phone down and stares at her, taking her in.

He’d always thought all babies kind of looked the same, but this baby was identical to Tessa. From her lips to the slope of her nose she looked exactly like her mother. Scott breathed a sigh of relief at not seeing any resemblance to Josh, and knew it would be easier on Tessa too. The baby let out a little shriek, and Scott cooed at her as he scooped her up.

“I’m sorry baby, did you need a cuddle?” He asks quietly, but the baby starts crying with tiny little sobs. Tessa stirs on the bed, and gives him a sleepy smile. 

“I think she needs to nurse.” Tessa tells him and gingerly slides up the bed until she’s upright. She unsnaps her hospital gown, and once she’s got the pillows how she wants them she holds her arms out. Scott gently places the baby into her waiting arms, and watches in amazement as Tessa attempts to get the baby to latch on. It takes a few tries, but the baby suckles away in earnest once she gets the hang of it. 

“She needs a name.” Scott says, rubbing the tiny foot that kicks its way out of the blankets. “Do any of the names you came up with jump out at you?”

Tessa stares down at their daughter, and she trails her thumb across the baby’s temple.

“Victoria. Tori for short, if that's okay.” Tessa says, and then looks up at him. He nods, knowing he won’t be able to speak around the lump in this throat. 

“Victoria Marie Virtue.” Scott chokes out. “Tori Virtue. I like it.” 

Tessa smiles at him, tears glistening in her eyes. 

“Can you grab me the folder on the nightstand?" Tessa ask. "I’ll have you fill out the certificate of birth for me while she eats.” 

He grabs it and a pen and sits back down. He fills out what information he knows, and he hovers over the section for the father. He knows he can’t be on the certificate because he legally isn’t Tori’s father. As full as his heart feels in that moment, it’s also heavy knowing it’s a little piece of Tori he’ll never have.

“Leave it blank. Her biological father isn’t in the picture, but you are.” Tessa says, and he smiles weakly at her. “Move on to her name section. I’m going with all the normal spellings for her name.”

“You’re sure you want Victoria Marie Virtue before I write it down?” He confirms, and she shakes her head. “I thought we had decided?”

“It’s Victoria Marie Moir.” Tessa says, and Scott can’t help the sob that rips from his throat. “I want you on the birth certificate, but we both know I can’t do that. If you look under the certificate there are adoption papers too.”

Scott shifts the certificate aside, and sure enough there are the papers ready for him to sign to make Tori legally his daughter. 

“She’s yours, Scott, regardless of what the papers do or don’t say. You are Tori’s father, and I want her name to reflect that.” Tessa says, tears falling freely down her cheeks. “I’m all in, Scott.”

He pulls her into a kiss, mindful of Tori still nursing between them, and their kisses taste like salt from their tears. Tori gives a squeak after a minute or so, and they both pull away laughing. 

“I’m sorry Tori, were we ignoring you?” Tessa asks, shifting the baby in her arms. “Mommy and daddy are here, sweetheart.”

Scott feels like nothing could top that moment for the rest of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed Tori's arrival!


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the latest chapter! Hope you all enjoy :)

Two days after Tori is born, Tessa and the baby are released from the hospital. Scott triple checks the car seat is installed right, and organizes all the balloons and flower arrangements they’d been sent in the living room, before heading to the hospital to pick them up. Tessa is rocking Tori in her arms when he gets there, and the baby is screaming out shrill, little cries. He spies all the bags ready to go home, but sees that Tessa has yet to change as he makes his way over to them. 

“She’s a little fussy today.” Tessa explains. “Every time I try to put her down she starts crying again.”

“Here, let me try.” Scott says, easing the baby out of her arms. “Go change, and take your time. I’ve got her.”

Tessa presses a kiss to the baby’s head, and then Scott’s cheek before grabbing some fresh clothes to change in to. Scott paces around the room, trying to get Tori to calm down. Her little fists ball his shirt up against his chest, and he nuzzles his face against her brown hair.

“Oh Tori, come on baby girl. It’s alright.” He says softly. He sits down in the rocker by the window, hoping the motion will quiet her down. It does the trick after a few minutes, and he breathes a sigh of relief. “That’s much better. See, you’re okay.”

She blinks up at him with her bright, blue eyes and he’s convinced they’re going to change into Tessa’s gorgeous green the older she gets. She flails her arms, and he holds out his finger for her to hold on to. She grips it hard for only being forty-eight hours hold, and Scott smiles at her.

“Your grandmas’ are going to be so excited to meet you.” He tells her. “They’re both coming to see you tomorrow and stay for a few days, which will help your mommy and I out a lot I think. All your aunts, uncles and cousins are excited to meet you too, but they all live kind of far away.”

Tori squirms in her blanket, and he readjusts his grip on her. 

“Your mommy and I are so excited you’re here, baby girl. I’m so glad I got here in time to see you be born too. You were ahead of schedule you know. That comes from your mommy for sure.”

Tessa walks out of the bathroom in a soft, cotton wrap dress and flip flops with her hair up in a pony tail. It’s the most refreshed Scott has seen her look since before he left for Lake Placid a week ago. She smiles at him, and puts her old clothes into a bag before walking over to him and Tori.

“You got her to stop crying.” Tessa says, amazement coloring her voice as her eyes light up.

“She just needed a change in person think.” Scott tells her with a shrug. “Come on, let’s get her in the car seat and go home.”

\----------

The next 24 hours is one of the most stressful days Scott has ever experienced. Getting Tori home is nerve-wracking, and Tessa has to keep reminding him to keep his eyes on the road and not on the review mirror to watch Tessa and the baby in the back seat. They get the car unloaded and Tori inside relatively easily, and Tessa introduces her to the nursery for the first time.

They order in lunch and Scott makes dinner for the both of them. Tori sleeps most of the time, only crying when she gets hungry or needs changed. He thinks that maybe she’ll be an easy baby based off her first two days of life outside the womb, but she proves him wrong that night. She cries for hours, and only seems to quiet down when she’s nursing. Which leads to more diaper changes in a day than Scott thought possible. 

“Ugh, all she’s had is breast milk. Why is her poop so nasty?” Scott exclaims after the fourth diaper change that night. He gags as he throws the dirty diaper away, and Tessa rolls her eyes at him.

“The nurse said this is normal for the first few days. She’ll get past it.” 

Scott shakes his head and uses what he thinks must be the one hundredth wipe of the day. Once he gets Tori changed and dressed in a new onesie (the other one was completely ruined and he’d thrown it out, knowing it was a lost cause), he hands her off to Tessa. She rocks the baby in the rocking chair, and lets her eyes fall shut and her head rest against the padded headrest. It takes Scott back to the day when they’d finished the nursery and he’d found Tessa rocking in the chair, rubbing her pregnant belly.

Tori letting out a cry breaks him from the memory, and he sighs as the volume of her screams increase. 

“I wish you could tell us what’s wrong, Tori.” Tessa says, and Scott can hear the frustration creeping in to her voice. She gives him a hopeless look, and he shrugs back. They’re both out of their element. “Is the bassinet set up in our room?”

“Yeah, I got it all ready this morning.” He tells her.

“Take her and try and see if you can get her to settle down for a bit.” Tessa says, and he settles Tori against his chest and helps Tessa up with his free hand. “I’ll grab some stuff to take to our room for the night so we don’t have to keep coming in here to change her.”

He walks Tori down the hall, bouncing her in his arms, desperate to get her to stop crying. He sits on the edge of the bed, and pulls Tori away from his chest. Her little face is red from her wailing, and he trails the pad of his pointer finger down her cheek.

“Mommy and I really want you to stop crying. We’ve changed you, held you, rocked you and feed you and nothing is working.” He tells her. “I know the world is a big and scary place right now to you. Everything is just so new, eh?”

Tessa sets the supplies down by the bassinet and flops onto the bed next to him, her head on his shoulder. He leans his head on hers as they both stare down at the screaming infant in his lap. 

“What are we going to do?” Tessa whimpers. “What if she never stops crying?”

“She has to stop eventually.” Scott tells her. “Our moms can help us with her tomorrow too, they’ll have ideas I’m sure.”

Tessa sniffles next to him, and he can feel his shirt sleeve dampen slightly. 

“Oh Tess, don’t cry.” He says, twisting to press a kiss to the top of her head. “I don’t want both of my girls crying.”

“I’m sorry.” She says, leaning away to wipe her tears. “My hormones are all over the place and I’ve barely slept at all in four days, and I have no idea how to stop my own daughter from crying. It’s just…”

“A lot.” Scott finishes, and she sighs. 

“Yeah, everything is a lot right now.” She scoots away and settles against the head board. He watches as she unbuttons her pajama top and unhooks her nursing bra, leaving her entire chest and stomach exposed. She isn’t shy about it, and nor should she be, but it’s the first time Scott’s really seen her like this in a long time.

“Give her to me. At least I can do a little skin to skin with her and see if that helps.” Tessa says, and he moves up the bed and lays Tori on Tessa’s chest. He slowly strokes his hand up and down Tori’s back, and Tessa cups the baby’s bottom to keep her from failing off her chest. “Okay baby, we hear you. It’s okay, sweetheart. Mommy’s got you and daddy’s here too.”

Tori’s cries tamper off a little, and Scott breathes a sigh of relief. 

“Why are you so sad, huh? You must be tired like we are.” Tessa says, pressing her lips to Tori’s head. “If you stop crying we can all fall asleep, and when you wake up I’ll feed you for as long you want.”

Scott snorts at her words, because their daughter is two days old and they’ve already started bargaining with her.

“I don’t think that’s how that works.” Scott tells her, and Tessa rolls her eyes at him. 

“I know, I’m just desperate at this point.” Tessa replies, and then focuses back on Tori. The baby has stopped crying, and they both breathe a sigh of relief. Her little eyes are fighting sleep, and Tessa hums a lullaby. Between the sound of her heartbeat and Tessa’s humming, Tori drifts off after a few minutes. 

“Oh thank god.” They both mutter at the same time. Scott lies down on his side, watching Tori sleep. Between one blink and the next he’s asleep too.

\----------

He wakes up to the sun rising outside the window, lighting the room in a soft, orange glow. Scott sits up slowly, rubbing his eyes and yawning. According to the clock he’s gotten a good five hours of sleep, and Tessa isn’t beside him anymore. He walks out into the living room, and smiles as he watches Tessa feed Tori. 

“Did you sleep at all?” Scott asks as he moves to sit by Tessa’s feet on the couch where she is stretched out. 

“Off and on. Tori kept waking up and she needed changed twice.” She tells him, switching Tori over to her other breast. 

“You should have woken me up, T. I would have helped you.” He says, shaking his head at her. 

“I was fine, Scott. I had her taken care of.” She replies, and he can hear the defensive tone in her voice. He knows she’s exhausted, and he doesn’t think twice about the way she’d defending herself. 

“How about after she’s done eating I’ll take her for a bit so you can get some sleep? My mom should be here in an hour, so we can watch her together.” Scott asks, and Tessa holds his gaze for a moment before nodding. Tori unlatches after a few minutes, and Scott scoops her up to burp her. Tessa slips away while his back is turned, and he sighs and presses a kiss to the top of Tori’s hat-covered head when he notices Tessa’s absence. 

“Good morning, baby girl. Mom needs some sleep, so it would be great if we don’t have a repeat performance of last night. You’re going to hang out with me and your Grandma for a bit.” He tells her, and she opens and closes her hand against his collarbone. He paces around the kitchen and living room to avoid her whimpers becoming full fledged cries, and Tori falls back asleep after half an hour. Once she’s fully out he sneaks down the hallway to check on Tessa. 

She’s passed out in the center of the bed, curled on her side. There are dried tear tracks on her cheeks, and Scott feels his heart break a little. He knows it hasn’t been the easiest few days despite how happy they are, and he knows that her hormones are still all over the place. But, he hates to see her upset. Both their mothers coming will provide them some much needed help, and he knows he’s going to have to push Tessa to take them up on it as much as they can.

Alma arrives an hour later with her suitcase and a large gift bag in hand, and immediately drops them by the door in favor of meeting her grandbaby. 

“Oh Scott, she’s just precious.” She coos over the baby in her arms, and Tori doesn’t seem to mind being handed off to someone new. 

“She wasn’t precious last night.” He says, taking advantage of his hands being free to wash the dishes. “She cried for hours, and nothing seemed to calm her down.”

“It’s not that uncommon, honey.” Alma tells him. “You and Charlie were both that way when you were born. She’s just needs a few days to adjust.”

“Yeah, I know.” He sighs. “She kept Tessa up though. I finally convinced her to go back to bed, and when I checked on her she’d clearly cried herself to sleep.”

“I cried everyday when Charlie was born you know.” Alma tells him, rocking side to side as Tori starts to fuss.

“Oh, so Danny and I weren’t good enough?” Scott jokes, and his mother raises an eyebrow at him.

“Very funny.” She deadpans. “Being a first time mom is stressful, Scotty. Between the hormones and the endless crying and diaper changes it’s a lot to learn and adjust to. I remember trying to sleep when Charlie did, but not being able to because I was so worried he’d need something and I wouldn’t hear him. I worried if he was getting enough food, or if I was doing everything right every day.”

“How did you get over that?” He asks her, drying his hands and bracing himself against the counter. 

“I didn’t. A mother is always going to worry about her child, but you get used to what your baby needs and how to help them, and things just get easier. Tori is only a few days old, give her and Tessa time.”

With the assurance that she and Tori will be fine for a while, Scott takes a plate of food to the bedroom for Tessa to eat. He sits on the bed next to her, and combs her hair away from her face with his fingers. She cracks an eye open and looks at him.

“You need to eat, and then I promise I’ll let you go back to sleep.” He tells her, and she winces as she pulls herself up, still sore from the birth.

“Where’s Tori?” She asks as she picks at the sandwich he made her.

“My mom’s here, so she’s getting some quality grandbaby time.” He says, and she nods. “Tess, I’m sorry if I made you upset earlier.”

“You didn’t, Scott. You were right, I needed sleep.” She replies. 

“You cried.” Scott blurts out. “I came to check on you and I saw you’d been crying.”

She sighs, and interlaces his fingers with her. “I’m okay, I promise. I’m just so overwhelmed, you know? I’m so happy Tori is here, and I can already tell I’m going to love being her mother. It’s just so much to adjust to. One day I’m walking around here as big as a house and the next I’ve got a screaming baby in my arms that needs my attention all the time.”

“I need you to tell me when you feel that way though, T. If we are going to get through these first few weeks we have to communicate. I want to help you.” Scott reasons, and she smiles softly at him.

“You are, Scott. You’ve done so much already.” She tells him. “I can’t even imagine doing this alone like I had planned now that I’ve seen what it’s like. I just need you to be patient with me, because I swear I’m trying to make this work.”

“I know you are.” Scott says, pulling her into a hug and then a kiss. They both hear a cry from the living room, and groan against each other’s lips. They hear a quiet knock on the door, and Alma pokes her head in. 

“I think Miss Tori is hungry.” She says, and Scott waves her in.

“Thank you so much, Alma.” Tessa tells her, taking the baby from her. “You can stay while I nurse if you want, that way we can catch up.”

“If you’re sure.” Alma says, and Tessa nods before lifting Tori up to her breast and covering her chest with a light blanket. “Then I’d love to hear about her arrival. I’ve had pictures from Scott to tide me over, but it just isn’t the same.”

\----------

Kate arrives in time for dinner that night, and the four of them sit and eat in shifts as they pass Tori around. Scott can see how relieved Tessa is to have her mom there, and she seems more relaxed than she had been all day. Tori behaves through dinner, but as soon as Scott loads the last plate in the dishwasher she burst into sobs. 

“Oh Tori, you were doing so well.” Tessa moans, and starts to get up to pace around with her. 

“Nope, you sit down.” Kate says firmly. “I want some time with my granddaughter.”

Tessa nods wearily, letting Kate walk around the apartment with Tori. Alma moves over a seat to sit next to Tessa, and they talk quietly as Scott finishes cleaning up the kitchen. They all relocate to the living room with tea, and Tessa leans her head on his shoulder. He can feel her dozing off and on, but a particularly loud shriek from Tori has her on her feet. 

“Tess, she’s fine.” He tells her as he holds onto her wrist. 

“She needs fed, I can tell.” She replies, and he lets her go. His mom squeezes his hand and gives him an encouraging smile. 

“It’s alright, Scott. It’s good that she can tell what Tori needs, remember?” She asks.

“Yeah.” He sighs, running a hand wearily over his face. “Sorry, we’re both just so tired and I don’t want a repeat of last night.”

“That’s why Alma and I are here.” Kate says as she walks in. “I talked Tessa into pumping tonight so that we won’t have to wake either of you for feedings for a few hours.”

Scott wants to thank her, but he knows how adamant Tessa was about feeding the baby herself. They’d discussed bottle versus breast feeding for hours in the weeks before Tori was born, and ultimately Tessa wanted to breast feed as much as possible for the first few months. They both new bottles would be needed once he went back to coaching and competition season picked up.

“Scott, honey?” Kate says, and Scott shakes his head and focuses back on her. “Tessa’s okay with it, I promise.”

“I’m glad, she needs the sleep.” He says, and he sits and listens as his mom and Kate talk about the baby and their plans for taking care of her that night. Tessa comes back a half hour later with a calmer Tori, and hands her off to him as she slumps down on the couch. Kate hugs Tessa into her side, and Scott can physically see the tension ease out of Tessa’s shoulders.

“Alright, I think it’s time for the new parents to go to bed.” Alma says after an hour of chatting, and Scott looks over to see that Tessa is half asleep on Kate. His mom takes the baby from him, and he kisses Tori’s forehead. Tessa hasn’t moved an inch, so he scoops her up in his arms. Alma holds Tori close to her, and Tessa kisses Tori’s head too.

“Promise me you’ll get me if she needs me?” Tessa asks their moms, and they both give their assurances that they’ll bring Tori to her if they need her. She lets Scott carry her back to their room with little fuss, which shows him just how exhausted she is. He sits her down on the bed, and they get under the covers without even bothering to brush their teeth or turn off the lights. She curls into his side, and he pulls her against his chest. They’re both asleep within seconds, not even registering Tori’s cries in the other room or their mothers’ fussing over her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took me a bit longer to write, but I'm glad it's finally up! The next chapter will be a bit different, as you'll get to see some milestones from throughout Tori's first year of life and in Tessa and Scott's relationship.
> 
> As always, let me know what you thought of this chapter, and I'd love to hear if any of you have ideas for the next chapter.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew.   
> So this section got so large that I decided to split Tori's first year into two separate chapters. Enjoy!

September 2020

The weeks after Tori’s birth pass quickly, and Scott finds that he and Tessa become a well oiled, parenting machine. After their moms leave when Tori is a week and a half old, he and Tessa sit down and plan how they’re going to make parenting work. Despite his busy schedule, Scott was determined to take on his fair share of helping with Tori. So, they make it a schedule. 

Tessa cares for Tori in the mornings while Scott is coaching, and he comes home for lunch or meets up for lunch with his girls. Tessa then trades off, and he takes Tori to the rink for a chunk of the afternoon so Tessa has time to work on her sponsorship deals or coursework for her MBA. She picks Tori up before his evening coaching session, and Scott makes dinner when he gets home. They share the responsibilities in the evening, enjoying the chance to both be with Tori at the same time. They split taking care of her during the night, that way both of them get some rest at least. 

It’s a system that works for the most part, and one they settle in to easily. But, competitions put a major hitch in their schedule. 

“Tess, have you seen my Skate Canada jacket?” Scott calls out from the depths of Tessa’s closet, cursing himself for packing at the last second. 

“It’s in the hall closet.” She says as she walks in, and he sees her raise an eyebrow at the pile of clothes he’s thrown on the bed to pack. “You have to leave in thirty minutes you know.”

He groans, and shuts the closet door, rushing past her to fetch his jacket out of the hall closet. He grabs an apple out of the dish on the counter on the way back to their room and bites through it quickly, knowing he won’t be able to eat until he’s on the plane with his team. Tessa is folding his clothes and putting them in his suitcase much more efficiently than he would have when he gets back to their room.

“Get your Tori fix in before you go, I can handle this.” Tessa says and nods towards the bassinet next to the bed. He doesn’t have to be told twice, and he scoops Tori up and rocks her a little as she fusses at the change in position. She’s six weeks old and growing like a weed, and she looks more and more like Tessa each day.

“I’m going to miss you so much, baby girl.” He tells her, and she holds on to his fingers. She blinks at him, and he tries to memorize every little detail of her face, knowing she’ll have changed by the time he’s back next week. 

“You won’t miss the late nights though. I’m jealous of the sleep you’re going to get.” Tessa groans and Scott gives her a sympathetic smile. After her initial fussiness and crying when she was born, Tori had grown out of not sleeping, only for it to come back in the last few days. 

“I’ll call you every night before I go to bed.” Scott swears. “If she’s crying you can call me.”

“Scott, Beijing is 12 hours ahead of Montreal.” She laughs. “You’ll be with your team.”

Scott shrugs at her. “So? My family is more important.”

Tessa smiles at him softly, and beckons him over to her. She stands up and nestles into his side and places a kiss on his neck. Scott breathes in her strawberry scented shampoo, knowing he’ll miss the familiar smell for the next week.

“Ouch, Tori!” Tessa yelps, and Scott looks down to see the baby has a handful of Tessa’s hair in her little hand. He laughs and detangles them, and it’s that moment that he thinks of when the pangs of homesickness hit him as soon as the plane takes off for China.

\----------

Scott wakes up from his accidental mid-evening nap to his phone ringing, and he smiles as he sees the picture of Tessa and Tori he took before he left filling the screen.

“Hey, T! I didn’t think I’d hear from you until tomorrow.” He says, and then he registers the heavy breathing down the line. “Tessa, talk to me.”

“They know. They know about Tori.” She sniffles, and Scott feels panic seize his chest. 

“Who knows, Tess?” He asks her.

“Everyone apparently. It’s all over social media and the press.” She says. “I took Tori for a walk in the park this morning and then to the café when I got some coffee with Marie-France, and someone must of have seen me.”

“Are there pictures?” He asks her. “Have you called our management?”

“Yes, but all you see is the stroller and her wrapped up.” She tells him, and he breathes a sigh of relief that the pictures aren’t too intrusive. “I called our management, but they said it’s up to us how we want to handle this.”

Scott gets up and paces around his hotel room, wishing he was back in Montreal more than anything in the world. 

“We knew it would happen eventually.” He says slowly. “So what do you want to do?”

“There’s no point in denying it, people saw me with her.” Tessa says, and he can hear the frustration in her voice. “It’s also pretty obvious based on the fact that we’ve been not been around for tours or on social media.”

“So you want to announce it then?” Scott asks.

“Do we really have a choice?” She says, and he can hear Tori whimper in the background. 

“Tess, if you don’t want to put it out there then don’t do it.” He says firmly. “If you’re not comfortable sharing Tori with the world then wait for a while.”

She sighs, and he can hear Tori better and assumes she’s picked her up and put the phone on speaker.

“No, it’s time.” She replies. “Is it okay with you if I post something on Instagram?”

“Of course.” He tells her, and tries to think of the best way to ask if he’ll be included in her post. “Tess, how much are you going to share?”

“However much we are both comfortable with.” She says. They sit in silence for a second, and he can hear Tori making little noises. “I’m done hiding, Scott. People know she’s mine now, but they should know she’s yours too.” Tessa finally says, and Scott feels the air rush out his lungs. 

It’s one thing for their family to know he’s a father, but it’s a whole new can of worms for the whole world to know. For a second he thinks about telling her no, because he knows people will make nasty comments or make assumptions that aren’t true, and the last thing he wants is Tessa upset. But, he wants the world to know that he’s the father to the best little girl in the world, and parenting with the best mom too.

“I’m more than fine with that.” He tells her. “Are you going to post something now?”

“Yeah, might as well address it today.” Tessa says, and Tori lets out a loud shriek. “Goodness, someone’s hungry. I’m going to have to go, Scott. We love you.”

“Love you both.” Scott replies and hangs up. He’s too keyed up after the phone call, so he convinces Patch to join him for a drink at the hotel bar. They chat about their teams for a while, but Scott keeps glancing at his phone every few minutes. He confesses to Patch what’s happened, and the conversation quickly turns to Tori.

A notification pops up on his screen a while later and he pulls up Instagram and quickly goes to Tessa’s page. She’s posted a picture of Tori dressed in a white onesie and a soft, ruffled pink ballet skirt. The baby has a headband on with a little, rose floret, and has knit booties on her feet that look like a pair of ice skates. Tori’s asleep, with her feet crossed and one hand by her face with the other at her side. Scott recognizes that she’s on their bed with one of Tessa’s soft, white blankets. 

The caption reads: "Welcome to the world Victoria Marie Moir. 9-9-2020. 7 lbs, 6 oz, 17 inches. Tori is only six weeks old, but I already love her more than anything in the world (sorry @scottmoir14, we both know she’s you’re favorite too :) ). We both would like to thank our family, friends and sponsors for supporting us through my pregnancy and these first few weeks. We hope our fans can give us a little privacy as we adjust to our next 20 year project. #VirtueMoir

If Scott cries, nobody knows but Patch and the bartender.

\----------

October 2020

“We’re having date night.” Tessa says firmly when she picks up Tori from the rink one afternoon. “I’ve ordered dinner from Foxy’s and I’m putting down Tori early.”

Scott chokes on his water, surprised at how determined Tessa is for them to spend time without Tori, and Marie-France shoots a him a look from across the room that tells him he isn’t as smooth as he thinks. 

“Sounds great, T.” He tells her, and then she’s pressing a quick kiss to his cheek and bustling out the door as best as she can with a diaper bag on one arm and Tori in her car seat on the other. 

“You best be leaving on time tonight, Scott.” Marie says. “Actually, I suggest you leave early. You know how Tessa feels about punctuality.”

“Believe me, I know.” Scott says sheepishly, knowing it was one of Tessa’s biggest pet peeves he had broken one too many times over the years. He herds his junior team onto the ice as soon as they show up, and they don’t seem to complain when he cuts practice short a few minutes early. He showers at the rink quickly and changes into the nicest pair of sweats he has in his bag. The apartment lights are dimmed when he unlocks the door, and soft, classical music is playing. The table they barely eat at anymore has candles on it, and their dinner has steam coming off it. Tessa peaks her head around the corner, and his jaw drops as she walks towards him in a loose, cotton olive green dress. Her hair is softly curled, and she’s wearing a little bit of makeup. He thinks she’s beautiful no matter what she wears, but in the candle light he’s struck by just how magnificent she looks. 

“Tess, you look…” He trails off, and she giggles at him. 

“Thank you.” Her cheeks color, and she nods towards the table. “Let’s eat while it’s hot.”

She puts the baby monitor next to the salt shaker, and they dive into their meals. It’s the first meal they’ve shared alone in months, and one of the most romantic ones they’ve had in their relationship. The world seems to melt away around them, until Tori starts crying. They both share a look and then laugh, knowing the moment wasn’t going to last forever. They walk hand in hand to the nursery, and Tessa only lets go of his hand to scoop Tori up. She stops crying as soon as Tessa has her in her arms.

“Oh you just wanted some attention, is that it?” Tessa scoffs. “Mommy and daddy were having date night you know. You’re supposed to be sleeping.”

Tori gurgles and reaches a hand towards Scott, where he is nestled against Tessa’s back.

“You just wanted to join the party, didn’t you baby girl? You wanted to come party with mommy and I.” He says, shaking the hand she has latched on his finger.

“You’re a party animal!” He says, making faces at her, and she makes noises back at him. Her lips twitch up, and then she’s grinning at him. “Tess!”

“What?” She asks in alarm, as Scott pulls Tori out her arms. “Scott, what?”

“Tori, are you a party animal? Are you?” He asks, making faces at her. Tori grins, again, and Scott can hear Tessa gasp.

“She’s smiling. She’s actually smiling!” Tessa laughs, and runs out of the room. She comes back quickly, phone clutched in her hand and she snaps pictures as Scott makes the baby smile. As soon as Tori falls back asleep it’s his newest screen saver on his phone.

\----------

Skate Canada International falls a few weeks later at the end of October, and after Marie-France and Patch beg him to come with them to assist with all their teams, he agrees. It’s being held in Ottawa, so it’s an easy drive from Montreal. Still, he packs his bags slowly and purposely keeps letting Tori distract him from where she’s surrounded by pillows on his and Tessa’s bed. He’s pulling out a few shirts to put in his suitcase when he notices some of Tessa’s shirts are missing. He did the laundry over the weekend, so he knows they aren’t in the wash. 

“Tess, are you going somewhere?” He asks, sticking his head into the bathroom where she’s getting ready for the day. 

“Maybe…” She drawls, and then smiles brightly at him. “I knew you’d miss us, so I thought we would just come with you.”

“You’re coming to Ottawa?” He asks, standing in front of her with his hands on her hips.

“We’re coming to Ottawa.” Tessa confirms, and he presses kiss after kiss to her face in excitement. She eventually shoves him off in favor of getting ready, and sends him out of the bathroom with a swat to the butt and instructions to take their bags to the car. She’s got Tori in her carrier when he comes back inside, and after a quick breakfast they’re on the road. 

Tori does well in the car, thankfully, and sleeps the whole way to Ottawa. After a quick stop to the hotel to drop off their bags and for Tessa to nurse Tori, they’re back on the road and on the way to the rink where the skaters from Gadbois are practicing. Scott helps Tessa put Tori in the soft, cloth carrier so Tessa can keep her close, and they walk into the rink hand in hand. 

“I’m going to go help, are you good over here?” Scott asks Tessa when they get to the bench, and she nods.

“Tori and I will wait here, you go on.” She says, plopping herself down and adjusting Tori so the bright rink lights don’t bother her. Within seconds of Scott being on the ice Marie is off it and cooing over Tori.

“I knew as soon as you showed up with that baby that she’d be taking a break.” Patch teases, and Marie shoots him a dirty look.

Scott helps Patch with the senior teams, correcting postures and giving tips as they work through sections of their programs. After their two hours are up, Scott, Patch and Marie head to the bench where Tessa is standing and bouncing slightly with Tori still in the cloth carrier.

“How about we have dinner tonight? It’s been so long since we all caught up.” Marie says, and they all nod. 

“As long as you don’t mind Tori tagging along I’m all for it.” Scott says, glancing over at Tessa who nods her agreement. 

“As if I wouldn’t want to spend more time with my favorite baby.” Marie scoffs. “We’ll do something easy so you two don’t have to worry too much if she gets fussy. I remember those days well.”

They all leave, and meet back up again a few hours later at a brew pub not far from Parliament Hill. Tori is wide awake, and Marie gladly takes her off Tessa’s hands while they wait for their meals.

“She seems to be doing much better than those first few weeks.” Patch remarks, letting Tori squeeze his finger.

“She doesn’t cry all night, so anything is better than that.” Scott quips, and Patch laughs. 

“And she’s eight weeks now, yes?” Marie asks.

“She’ll be nine weeks on Sunday.” Tessa says. “I can’t believe it. Time is just flying with her.”

“I know that feeling well. I felt like Billie-Rose just wouldn’t stop growing when she was this age.” Marie says. 

They chat about Tori and Billie for a bit, and Scott can’t help but be amazed at how far their relationship has come with their former coaches. After their meals arrive Tessa takes Tori back, showing off her expert skills at eating and holding Tori at the same time. They all agree to some tea and coffee before leaving, and Patch and Marie exchange a look before turning back to Tessa and Scott.

“We have a proposition.” Marie starts. “As you can clearly tell, we don’t have enough coaches for our senior teams. Scott, you’ve done remarkably well with your junior team, and we’d like to propose that you continue coaching them next season, but also pick up a senior team as well.”

Scott sits their stunned. He knew he was good with the juniors, but coaching seniors was a whole different level. It meant more drama and more work, and definitely more time away from home. 

“On top of that, we’d like to bring you in, Tessa.” Patch continues. “You’ve got a flair for dance, and we could use your help with our teams as well.”

Tessa looks over at Scott, and they have a quick conversation with their eyes that only the two of them understand. Scott can tell she wants to say yes, but that she doesn’t want to spend time away from Tori. He feels the same way.

“Could we think about it and get back to you?” Tessa asks, always the more business- savvy of the two of them. “I think we’re both interested, but with Tori still being so young I think we need to talk it over and consider our options.”

“Of course! We want you to take your time to decide, that’s why we’ve given you so much time to figure it out before next season.” Marie says. “We know family comes first.”

They end their night quickly as Tori starts to cry, and the ride back to the hotel is quiet except for Tori’s whimpers. As soon as they’re back in their room her whimpers burst into full blown cries, and Scott rocks her back and forth while Tessa gets ready for bed.

“She's just has a long day.” Tessa says, taking Tori back from him. Tori nuzzles against her chest, and Tessa lies back on the bed and hums. Tori’s cries tamper off after a few minutes, and she’s asleep not long after that. Scott sits down beside her, pressing a kiss to both of his girls’ foreheads. 

“We are rocking this parenting thing.” He says, and Tessa chuckles.

\----------

November 2020

“So Patch and I were thinking that maybe we could watch Tori for a night next week, that way you and Tessa can go out.” Marie brings up as she and Scott sit in the coaching office. Scott looks up from his laptop, pausing the video of his team from their morning practice. 

“I’d have to talk to Tess.” Scott replies, and cocks his head as he looks at Marie. “What brought this on?”

“Scott, I realize that you both are busy with Tori.” Marie says, and gets up from the desk to sit next to him. “However, you two are also a couple. Well, at least I think you are.”

“We don’t really like to label it.” Scott says, for what feels like the one hundredth time. “But you know I have a ring, and so does Tess. It’s just a matter of time.”

“Is it?” She asks. 

“What do you mean by that?” Scott asks Marie, his brows furrowing. “Tessa promised me she’d let me know when she was ready. She just isn’t there yet.”

“Let me put it this way.” Marie says, running a soothing hand across his back. “When you promised Tessa you’d be there for her during this pregnancy and be Tori’s father, you both had a talk about what the future looked like. You made promises to each other, and Tori is already a Moir. Things moved quickly between the two of you because they had to.”

“So what are you saying, that Tessa is having second thoughts?” Scott asks, and he feels his heart skip a beat. “Did she say something to you?”

Marie clucks her tongue at him. “Oh mon dieu, Scott. That girl is so in love with you and you with her that it is sickening. My point is, you two completely skipped the dating phase. You know you belong together, and you have a child together and you’re ready for marriage. You may have done everything out of traditional order, but I think you skipped an important phase.”

“Dating?” Scott asks, and Marie nods. “I mean we’ve spent 23 years getting to know each other, and you know we dated off and on.”

“Oh? Then when is your anniversary?” Marie asks, arching an eyebrow at him.

“Well October.” He answers. 

“That’s your skating anniversary. What’s your anniversary as a couple?” She presses, and Scott realizes he actually has no idea. He isn’t sure if Tessa considers their anniversary the day that they figured everything with her pregnancy out or the day they shared a bed for the first time. Or if she was just as lost as he was.

“I see what you mean.” He replies, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck and giving her a sheepish grin. “I love Tori, and I obviously love Tess, but I guess you’re right. When I found out she was pregnant we kind of rushed into things, but I’m glad we did. I can’t imagine life without Tori as my daughter and Tessa as my…”

He trails off, because again, he and Tess don’t use labels. 

“Girlfriend?” Marie supplies, and he shakes his head and grimaces. 

“That doesn’t seem like enough. Partner I guess?” He says, and Marie rolls her eyes.

“That is why you and Tessa deserve a night to yourselves.” Marie says, squeezing his hand. “Get dressed up and take her out to eat and maybe then you’ll be able to clarify things. Don’t worry about Tori for one night.”

\----------

“Absolutely not.” Tessa says firmly when Scott brings up having an actual date night.

“Tess, it’s just one night. A couple of hours, really.” He tries to reason, and she glares at him from where she’s changing Tori on the changing table.

“She’s too little for that still.” She says. 

“Tori is three months old now.” Scott says, walking over and playing with Tori’s feet as Tessa snaps the baby into her onesie. “She does fine with a bottle, and she’s always really well behaved when Marie and Patch hold her.”

“I’m fine with Marie and Patch, Scott.” She says, putting away the wipes with a little more force than necessary. “I’m not fine leaving my baby.”

“Our baby.” He corrects her gently, and she turns to face him with tears in her eyes. 

“Oh, Scott. I didn’t mean it, I’m so sorry.” She says. “It just slipped out.”

He nods, not really knowing what to say. Tessa certainly didn’t do it regularly, but every once in a while she’d refer to Tori as just hers. It tended to happen in moments when they argued, or when Tori was having a particularly rough day. He usually brushes it off, knowing that Tessa wants him to be Tori’s father as much as he does, but in that moment it feels like they’re back to square one. 

“Do you think it’s easy for me to leave her?” He asks her. “I love Tori more than anything.”

“I know you do.” Tessa says softly, and picks Tori up off the changing table. 

Scott sits down in the rocking chair, and stares up at Tessa. He can see the nervousness in her eyes as she clutches Tori close. 

“I’m not going to push you if you aren’t ready, T.” He says wearily. “I get you don’t want to leave her, I do. But, I want to spend time with you where we can relax and just be the two of us.”

“Why now?” Tessa asks. 

“Because Marie brought it up, and she also asked me when our anniversary is and I didn’t have answer.” Scott tells her, and he can see the gears turning in her head. 

“Oh.” She says simply, with a shocked look on her face when it seems she doesn't have an answer either. 

“That’s what I said.” Scott replies. “So, Marie thought it would be good for us to get out and actually be a couple.”

Tessa sits on the footstool of the rocking chair, and Tori plays with the end of Tessa’s hair and lets out some loud squeals. 

“She’s right, and so are you.” Tessa says finally. “We should go out.”

“Your sure?” He asks her, and she nods.

“Yeah, I am. I don’t want to leave Tori, but if we’re going to make this work then we have to spend time together too.”

Scott smiles at her and leans in to kiss her. Tori squeals when she sees him getting closer, and after he pecks Tessa on the lips, he scoops Tori up smacks kisses all over her face.

They choose their date night for the following Tuesday, avoiding the competition schedule as best as they can. Sticking with their usual plan, Scott takes Tori to the rink for the afternoon while he works so Tessa has time to get ready. They’d decided on an early dinner, a comprise they’d made so Tessa could put Tori down herself that night. 

“You ready?” He hears from behind him, drawing his attention away from getting Tori’s diaper bag ready, and his jaw drops when he turns around. Tessa stands behind him, wearing an emerald green dress with black heels. Her hair is pulled up in an elegant bun, and her makeup makes her face shimmer in the office lights. 

“Wow…” He says shakily, and then trails off.

“Is that all you have to say?” Tessa laughs, and then picks Tori up out of her carrier. He doesn’t get a chance to respond as Marie and Patch come into the office. 

“Good, you’re here!” Marie says. “You should go now and beat traffic while you can.”

Scott can see Tessa tighten her hold on Tori. They exchange looks, and she sighs and hands Tori over to Marie. 

“I’ve got the milk in the cooler bag for her, and she’ll need fed in about half an hour and then again at 7.” Scott tells Marie. “Beyond that she’s easy.”

“We’ll be back to get her at 7:30 so I can get her home for bedtime at 8.” Tessa tells them, and Patch smiles at her. 

“We’ll have her ready.” He promises her, and she gives him a nervous smile. 

“Okay, let’s head out.” Scott says, placing a gentle hand on Tessa’s elbow to try and guide her out the door. She places a kiss to Tori’s forehead, and gives her a small smile. 

“Mommy will be back soon, okay baby? Be good for Patch and Marie-France.” She says, and Tori smiles at her. Tessa walks out of the room, barely leaving enough time for Scott to press his own kiss to Tori’s cheek and say goodbye to Patch and Marie. Tessa’s quiet in the car as he drives them to the restaurant, and it isn’t until he’s finished parking that he realizes Tessa’s crying.

“Oh, Tess.” He says softly, leaning across the center console to pull her into a hug. “We can go back now if you want.”

“No.” She says, leaning away to wipe the tears from under her eyes. “No, I want to do this. I just need a minute.”

He lets her fix her makeup in the visor mirror, and then gets out quickly to help her out of the car when she nods to him that she’s ready. They’re taking straight to their table in a quiet section of the restaurant. They bicker about what to get, just like old times, knowing that they’ll pick off each others plates. 

“I’m glad we’re doing this.” She says, taking his hand from across the table. “We needed this.”

“Yeah, me too.” Scott replies, squeezing her hand. “So, what do you want to talk about?”

“I thought maybe we could discuss the job proposition that Marie and Patch made last month.” She says, and Scott blinks in surprise.

“No small talk then, that’s fine.” He says, and she laughs. “Well, I’m on the fence about it, you know? I would love to make the jump to seniors, but coaching both teams would mean more competitions and more time at the rink.”

She nods for him to go on. 

“I don’t want to be away from you and Tori more than I already am, Tess. I miss you when I don’t see you during the day.”

“I miss you too.” She says. “As funny as it seems we’d probably see each other more if I took the position they offered.”

“What would we do about Tori?” He asks her. “She won’t even be a year old yet by the time we start.”

“That’s the one thing holding me back.” Tessa confesses, biting her bottom lip. “I want to be there for her as much as I can, but I need something else. I don’t think I can be just a stay at home mom. I want to do something meaningful in the world, besides raising our daughter.”

“I want that for you too, T.” He says. “You’re such an amazing mother, but you’re an even more amazing person. If you want to work than I support you 100 percent.”

“Maybe I can bring Tori with me? We won’t necessarily be coaching together at the same time, so we can keep roughly the same schedule.” Tessa proposes. Scott shakes his head. He wants to make it work, but he doesn’t want Tori to grow up being passed around all day at the rink. 

“She’ll get fussy with all the back and forth.” Scott says, and Tessa sighs and nods in agreement. “We could always hire a nanny, or look into childcare.”

This time Tessa shakes her head. “I really don’t want to do that, Scott. The thought of someone spending the entire day with her when she’s still so little…”

Scott sees the moment she chokes up, and squeezes her hand hard to get her to look at him.

“What if you take the position to help with the dance aspects, and I just stick with my juniors?” He asks. He wants to coach seniors, but if it means keeping Tessa and Tori happy he’s willing to wait a few years. 

“Scott, no.” Tessa says. “You’ve wanted to coach seniors all along, and this is your chance. I don’t want you to give that up.”

“Parenting is about making sacrifices for your children, and the same goes for the people you love.” He replies. “If this is what makes you and Tori happy, then it’s what makes me happy. I love my junior team, and I’m content to coach just them for now.”

“What did I do to deserve you?” Tessa asks, and Scott can see the tears shimmering in her eyes. 

“Put up with me in my teens years.” He says quickly, and Tessa laughs. Her face turns serious after a moment, and Scott gives her a questioning look over the rim of his wine glass. 

“Marie-France told me she knows about the ring, and that she knows I know too.” Tessa confesses. “I realize we haven’t talked about it since before Tori was born.”

“I told you, Tess. I’m willing to wait.” Scott reminds her. 

“I know. I just need a little more time, I think.” She says, and gives him a hesitant smile. “My answer is still yes when the time comes, but I want to do more of this I think.”

“Dating, even though we already have a baby?” Scott asks, and she roles her eyes and smiles. 

“Yes. I think this will be good for us.” Tessa says. “I feel like we didn’t do this when I was pregnant because everything revolved around having Tori.”

“I felt that way too. I didn’t want to push you into a relationship you weren’t ready for. We just seemed to kind of fall into it.” Scott says. 

“We did, and I don’t regret a second of it. But now I think we need to slow things down a bit. Well, as much as you can when we already have a baby.” She replies. 

He smiles at her, and reaches across the table to cup her cheek.

“You just tell me when, Tess. I’m not going anywhere.”

\----------

December 2020

With their decisions made and reported to Marie-France and Patch in November, Scott feels clearer headed than he has in weeks. He’d lead his junior team to a bronze finish at the Junior Grand Prix Final, and he can’t stop himself from smiling the whole flight back to Montreal. Patch refuses to sit next to him an hour into the flight when Scott won’t stop fidgeting, and forces one of the juniors to come sit by him instead. 

By the time the plane touches down he’s practically vibrating in his seat, and as soon as he’s off the plane he’s rushing to get into the main terminal where Tessa is waiting for him. He spies her standing off to the side of one of the baggage claim carousels, with Tori facing outward so she can watch the luggage go around. 

“Tori!” He calls when he gets closer, and Tessa whispers in the baby's ear and points towards Scott as he walks up. 

“Look, it’s daddy!” Tessa says, and Tori smiles and squeals as he reaches for her. She flails and kicks as he settles her against his chest. He pulls Tessa into a side hug, and he can feel her slump into his side. 

“Sleep regression still causing problems?” He asks her, and he feels her nod against his chest. Tori had hit the four month milestone, and with it came sleep regression. He’d felt horrible about leaving Tessa alone with the baby like that, but it wasn’t like they had much of a choice. 

“It’s a little better. I think she’ll be past it soon.” Tessa says. She spies his suitcase and grabs it off the carousel, letting him have a moment to reconnect with Tori. She keeps putting her hand on his stubble, and then pulling her hand away with a smile. He laughs at her, and makes faces. Tori starts laughing and Scott feels his face go slack at the sound. 

“Are you laughing for daddy?” Tessa asks as she wheels his suitcase over. “Are you showing daddy how funny you think he is?”

“When did she start this up?” He asks. Tori was starting to make little giggling sounds before he’d left, but she’d yet to let out an actual laugh. Now she was clearly laughing, and the sound made the long flight home worth it.

“Sometime the other day between one crying fit and the next.” Tessa says. “I bent over her and my hair brushed her face, and she just started laughing.”

“Well I’m glad you’re a happy girl right now, Tori.” Scott says, kissing the top of her head. “How about we go home and have a little playtime, that way mommy can nap.”

“Thank god you’re home.” Tessa groans, and Scott smiles as he hands her Tori in order to pull his suitcase behind them.

\----------

They’re packing the car a week later for the seven hour drive to London and Ilderton for Christmas. They’d discussed flying, but the last thing they needed was for Tori to cry during the flights, so in the car they went. Tessa sat in the back with Tori for the most part, keeping her entertained and feeding or changing her when needed. By the time they reached Tessa’s London home they both breathed a sigh of relief. 

“I’m putting her to bed and then I’m passing out.” Tessa told Scott as she unlocked the front door, and he made quick work of getting the suitcases inside. By the time he finished unpacking, Tori was falling asleep in the crib and Tessa was flopping face first on to the bed. He followed her a few minutes later, exhausted after the drive. 

He wakes up at 5 a.m. the next morning, and realizes something feels off. It feels like the first time in weeks he hasn’t been woken up by Tori crying, and he assumes Tessa’s already up with her.   
That is until Tessa snuggles deeper into his side. 

“Tess?” He says softly, and she groans. “Tessa.”

“What?” She asks, voice crackly as she stretches and starts to wake up.

“Tori’s not crying.” He says, and she shrugs.

“I figured you’d fed her.” Tessa says, and he shakes his head. 

“I figured you did.” He replies, and they stare at each other for a second before flying out of bed and into the nursery. They lean over the crib, and Tori looks up at them and starts babbling at them with a smile. Tessa scoops her up and laughs, all the tension that had built up in those few minutes gone. 

“Did you sleep through the night?” Scott asks Tori, and she flails her arms at him. “You’re so smart! You let mommy and daddy sleep all night.”

“I can’t believe she slept the whole night.” Tessa says, her voice colored in awe as she brushes her finger tips through Tori’s short strands of hair that are fuzzy from sleep. 

“She was probably as tired as we were.” Scott says, grabbing Tori the fake, plastic keys she likes to play with to keep her occupied. 

“I don’t care. She slept and that’s all I can ask for. It’s our Christmas miracle.” Tessa says, bouncing Tori in her arms. 

Christmas falls a few days later, and Tori’s streak of sleeping with only getting up once or twice a night continues. Scott learns not to question it, and hopes that maybe it’s the turn they’d hoped for in regards to her sleeping schedule. They enjoy a quiet Christmas morning, helping Tori unwrap the few toys they’d gotten her and eating pancakes. They hit the Virtue Family Christmas first, and they’re met by Jordan waiting for them by the door.

“Hand my niece over, it’s time for some Tori and Aunt Jordan time.” Jordan says once they’re out of the car. Tessa smiles and follows Jordan in, and Scott’s taking his shoes off when Kate comes up to him. 

“Can you help me in the kitchen for a few minutes, Scott?” She asks, and he follows her in. He realizes too late that Kate has him cornered, and he waits patiently as she arches her eyebrow at him. “I don’t see a ring on my daughter’s finger.”

Scott breathes out a sigh. “Yeah, I know. She’s not ready yet.”

“Did you decide that or did she tell you that?” Kate asks. 

“She told me.” Scott says. “We’ve discussed it, and she says she needs a little more time.”

Kate gives him a soft smile and presses a cookie into his hand. “You’re too good to her.”

“I try to be.” He says, as Kate presses a kiss to his cheek. As she pulls back she holds his jaw in her hand, and stares him down. 

“I better be the first one you tell when she is ready.”

“Yes ma’am.” He replies, knowing better than to come between Kate Virtue and her baby girl. 

It’s a similar scene when they get to the Moir Family Christmas later that afternoon, and Tori is passed around. Most of his family hadn’t met her yet, and it gives both Tessa and Scott a few hours without having to worry about holding her, minus a few feedings. 

“Can I hold her, Uncle Scott?” His niece Charlotte asks, and with his supervision she sits between he and Danny, with Tori in her lap. Tori reaches out for the antler’s on Charlotte’s headband, and Charlotte laughs as Tori pulls on them.

“Be nice, Tori.” Scott says, pushing them back up and Danny laughs as Tori proceeds to pull them right back down. 

“Uncle Scott, is Tori your baby?” Charlotte asks, and Scott knows it’s an innocent question, but it gains the attention of most of the adults in the room. 

“Yeah, Charlotte, she is. She looks a lot like Aunt Tessa though, doesn’t she?” He says, and he catches Tessa’s eye from across the room where she is sitting with the other Tessa. 

“She’s my favorite cousin.” Charlotte says firmly, and Scott smiles brightly at her before taking a sip of his beer. “Are you and Aunt Tessa going to have any more babies?”

Scott promptly chokes and spits up half his sip of beer, and Charlie thumps on the back. Scott waves him off with watering eyes after a few seconds, and Tessa is looking anywhere but at him. 

“I don’t know, Charlotte.” He says hoarsely. “Tori is still really little, so we have to spend a lot of time helping her.”

“Oh.” Charlotte says. “So maybe next year when she’s bigger you’ll have another baby?” 

“Stop pestering Uncle Scott.” Danny intervenes, and Scott spies Tessa excusing herself and slipping out onto the back porch. Danny must see her too, because he scoops Tori off Charlotte’s lap and tells her it’s his turn to hold her while Scott follows Tessa outside. 

“Tess?” He says softly, and her back is to him as she leans on the railing, looking out at the snow covered fields behind the house. 

“I’m fine.” She says, and her quick response tells him she’s anything but okay.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asks, and leans against the railing next to her. 

“No.” She says, her voice wavering. 

“Okay.” He says, and the both stand there in silence. Tessa start shivering after a few minutes, and he pulls her against him. She burrows her face into his chest, and he strokes her hair.

“Can we table this discussion?” She asks into his shirt, and Scott can feel how tense her shoulders are. 

“Of course, Tess.” He says, pulling her back so he can look at her face. “You know either way I still love you, right? If Tori is it for us, I’m okay with that.”

She gives him a weak smile, and nods. “I need a few more minutes, and then I’ll be in.”

He presses a kiss to her lips, and then turns to head back inside. “I’ll cover for you until you're ready to come in."

“Scott?” She says just as he’s about to open the door. He turns to face her. “You should know I’m not saying no to more kids.”

Her words have a finality to them that tells him that’s the last thing she’s going to say on the topic for now, so he gives her his biggest smile and a wink as he goes inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you got through all that I'm impressed. The next chapter will cover January-August 2021 as we approach Tori's first birthday. As always, thank you all for reading and let me know what you thought of this chapter.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait guys! This one took a lot longer to write than expected and I had a busy week. It's a little longer than most of the chapters, so hopefully that makes up for it ;)

January 2021

The first few weeks of the New Year are stressful ones, thanks to a now teething Tori. After their trip home things had been tense as both Scott and Tessa danced around the waiting conversation on their future together, so Tori’s incessant whimpering didn’t help the mood much. 

“There has to be another frozen teething ring.” Scott says, staring into the depths of their freezer and hoping that one of the little colorful rings will magically appear from behind a bag of frozen peas. 

“I asked you to wash them and refreeze them last night.” Tessa replies tensely, holding a fidgeting Tori in her lap. The baby’s cheeks are tear stained, and Scott feels his heart squeeze at the sight of his daughter in pain. 

“I forgot.” He confesses. “I had a long day at the rink and I was so tired when I got home that it slipped my mind.”

Tessa clutches Tori close and gives him a hard look. The baby wails in her ear, and Tessa’s eyes slip closed at the sheer volume of her screams. He walks towards her, pulling Tori into his arms. Tori’s left a puddle of drool on Tessa’s shirt, and Scott notices just how exhausted Tessa looks.

“Go shower and nap. It’s my fault there aren’t any more rings, and I know she’s been fussy the past few days. I’ll take her off your hands for a while.”

Tessa opens her eyes, and their shiny under the kitchen lighting from unshed tears. She leans into him and shakes her head and he feels her relax in his arms for the first time in days. He hates how every time they take one step forward in their relationship they always take one step back, especially this time.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so tense.” Tessa says into his collar bone. “Ever since Christmas I’ve been stuck in my own head, and that’s not fair to you or Tori.”

Scott guides her to their bedroom, sitting across from her on the bed as he lets Tori gnaw at his fingers. He puts his free hand in Tessa’s, and she slides her fingers between his in their usual grasp. Her thumb draws patterns across the side of his hand, her eyes following the movements. 

“I know I asked to table the conversation, but I think we should have it now.” Tessa says, and Scott sits there silently. “Things have been tense between us, and I know you told me to take the time I need, but I hate how things feel right now.”

She raises her eyes to his, clearly checking in to see if he’s listening, and he nods. 

“I know Charlotte’s question about us having more kids was innocent, of course, but it really struck something inside me.” She says, and takes a big breath in. “You know I’ve never considered myself to be very maternal.”

“Tess, you’re such a good mom.” He interrupts her, and she arches and eyebrow at him. He stops talking, and gives her a soft smile as an apology.

“Tori wasn’t planned, obviously. I was terrified when I found out that I was pregnant, and not just because Josh left me. I didn’t want to be a mom yet, maybe if at all. The thought of mothering and raising a little being that was part me scared the hell out of me.” Tessa confesses. “I don’t think I would have been as calm or prepared had you not stepped in.”

Scott squeezes her hand, trying to convey how much he loves her and how amazing he finds her without saying a word. She gives him a hesitant smile, and he knows she got his nonverbal message. 

“Raising Tori hasn’t been easy, but it’s also been one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life. I thought Tori would be it for me, but I also know how badly you want children. When you told me Christmas night that you didn’t care if it ended up just being you, me and Tori I was surprised because all your life that hasn’t been what you’ve told me you’ve wanted.”

“A lot has changed.” Scott says softly, and she cocks her head and searches his face with her eyes. 

“Sure, things have changed. But, every since you were young you told me about how one day you’d have a wife, and a big house with a grassy yard. You’d have three kids, because you thought three was a good number. You wanted a family to come home to every night and children that would play hockey or do ice dancing.”

“Tess, that image hasn’t entirely changed.” He says, stopping her from continuing. “Someday soon you’ll be my wife, and we can get a house with a yard here in Montreal. Tori can do ice dancing or hockey, hell even curling if that’s what she wants to do. My future may look different than how I thought it would be, but that doesn’t mean I’m any less happy.”

He takes his hand out of hers, cupping her cheek bone. Her eyes slid shut, and she leans into his touch. 

“I want you to give me an honest answer to the question I’m about to ask.” Tessa whispers. “I don’t want you to give me the answer you think I want, or the answer that you think is a good compromise. I want you to give me the answer that you want.”

“Okay.”

“Do you want more children?” Her eyes open, and he can’t help but stare into her green eyes. He knows exactly what he wants, but he also knows it’s probably not what Tessa wants. He fights down the panic inside him of what to tell her, not wanting to fight with her but also not wanting to lie to her. 

“Yes.” He finally says. “Yes, I want more kids and I want them with you.”

Tessa nods ever so slightly, and they sit there looking at each other. Tori whimpers in his lap, and Tessa pulls her into her arms, pressing a kiss to Tori’s damp cheek. She lets Tori pull her fingers into her mouth, something Scott knows Tessa would have been grossed out by prior to Tori being born. 

“How many do you want?” Tessa asks, keeping her eyes on Tori as she talks. “Still three?”

“Yes, but Tori is one of those three.” He tells her, and Tessa snaps her gaze up to meet his. 

“Even though she’s not biologically yours?” Tessa asks, and Scott shakes his head in disbelief at her. 

“She’s my daughter, Tess. Usually you’re the first one to remind me of that.” He says, and he sees Tessa swallow hard as she tries to keep her tears at bay. “I don’t care if she’s biologically mine or not because she’s mine in every way that matters. So yes, she’s one of the three children I want and dreamed of.”

Tessa nods, and he watches as she processes what he’s said. 

“Do you want more kids, Tess?” He asks her, and she stares blankly at him.

“I…” She starts and then trails off. “This is harder than I thought.”

Scott feels his heart sink, because he knows in that moment what her answer will be. He tries to prepare himself for what he knows is coming, even though he’s told her he’ll be happy with whatever she wants. 

“Our relationship is all about compromise, and you’ve done so much for me and for Tori.” Tessa sniffles. “I don’t know about having two more kids, Scott.”

He nods, trying not to let his feelings show on his face. He looks down at Tori, and tries to convince himself that she’s the only baby he needs. He tries to wipe the idea of a little boy and little girl who have his eyes and Tessa’s hair from his mind, replacing them with Tori alone. A gentle touch to his cheek startles him, and he looks back up at Tessa. She’s got tears rolling down her cheeks, but a watery smile on her face, and he really doesn’t know what to make of that. Her thumb caresses his cheek bone from where she cups his jaw, tilting his face to make sure he’s looking at her.

“My compromise is having one more kid instead of two.” She says, and Scott feels like his whole body goes numb. “Now I’m not saying we have another baby now. I’d like to have another year or two with just Tori, but down the road-.”

He cuts her off and pulls her against his chest, mindful of Tori in her laps. He cradles her head against him, pressing kisses to her head over and over. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” He breathes, letting his own tears run unchecked down his cheeks. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

She pulls back and readjusts Tori in her lap, running a soothing hand through the baby’s short hair. “I do know how much it means, because having Tori showed me what being a mother is like. I didn’t want this before, but I do now. I want to have a baby that’s part you and part me.”

“A little Virtue-Moir.” He says, a smile breaking out across his face. She shakes her head and smiles back.

“By DNA, yes, but he or she will be just a Moir when the time comes. Just like Tori.” She says, and then leans down to blow a raspberry on Tori’s cheek.

\----------

After their initial date night back in the fall, they’d taken turns planning a night for just the two of them at least once or twice a month. January was Scott’s month to plan, and he’d sent Tessa a text to meet him at the rink that night. 

“Do you think your mommy is going to be surprised?” He asks Tori, looking down at her in his lap while he responds to a few emails about his junior team’s costumes. Tori babbles at him and opens her mouth wide enough that he can see one of her tiny, bottom teeth that had finally broken through. 

“I think she will too.” He says. “Now listen Tori, I need you to be extra good for Aunt Marie and Uncle Patch tonight. I think I might be able to convince mommy to let you spend the night with them.”

Scott was hoping he’d be able to convince Tessa, at least. They hadn’t left Tori with anyone overnight yet, but he craved to have an entire night with just him and Tessa. He loved Tori, but her crying while they made out was a real mood killer. 

Marie comes into the office a few minutes later and takes Tori off his hands while Patch helps him get the baby’s stuff together. He promises to let them know if she’s staying all night as soon as he can, and pecks Tori on the cheek before they go. He’s the last person in the building, so he shuts off what lights he knows they won’t need and then gets Tessa’s skates out of the coaching office. 

He’s methodically sharpening them just how she likes when he feels her arms wrap around him from behind. 

“Those are my skates.” She says as he turns off the machine. “Is this date night?”

“It is, if that’s okay with you?” He asks, and she nods. “Let’s get out there then.”

They lace up side by side on the bench, and he helps her onto the ice. Scott can feel the tension in her body as she slowly strokes beside him. 

“I’ve missed this.” She says softly. “I can’t believe I didn’t come back sooner.”

“You were focused on Tori, and that’s okay.” He tells her. “Besides, it’s like riding a bike.”

“It feels like a rusty bike right now.” She quips, and Scott laughs. “I don’t think I’ll be up for lifts anytime soon.”

“You don’t need to be.” Scott replies. “You can still do one thing though.”

“Yeah, what’s that?”

“Dance with me?” He asks, holding his hand out to her. She nods, and he presses play on the remote in his pocket. The sound of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony fills the air, and they dance together across the ice. They aren’t as smooth as 2010 by any stretch of the imagination, but he feels like they’re 20 and 22 again as the world melts away around them. Mahler shifts into Valse Triste, and then into Umbrellas and Latch. By the time Come What May rolls around he feels like his Tessa is back, and passion burns through him as the opening notes of Roxanne start. 

Tessa gives him a look with fire in her eyes, and the choreography rushes back to him as they make their way around the ice. They improvise through the rest of the song, and it ends with her legs around his waist and the combined sound of their heavy breathing as the song ends and moves on to the next one. Their cut of Carmen starts, and Scott skates slowly with her still around him, until her back hits the glass. They stare at each other for a brief second, and then it’s a clash of limbs and tongues. Scott faintly hears the music in the background, the rise and fall of Carmen the perfect song for the moment. Tessa runs her fingers through his hair, guiding his lips to the crook in her neck. He sucks at her collar bone, and the gasp she lets out sends a shiver down his spine. 

“Scott.” She whimpers. “Scott, babe, if we want to continue this I suggest we move off the ice.”

He slowly sets her down on her skates, and nods. They change get their shoes on and shut off the rink lights. They barely make it to the car before they’re making out again, and Scott feels the moment Tessa thinks of Tori, her hands stilling under his shirt. 

“Oh god.” She moans, and not for the reason he wants her to be moaning that phrase. “We have to pick up Tori.”

“Actually, about that...” Scott says sheepishly.

“Scott Moir, did you plan our sex?” She asks, arching an eyebrow at him. 

“I may have planned for them to take her all night in case we felt we needed a little more alone time.”

“A little more alone time.” She repeats with a smirk. “You were really hoping to get lucky, weren’t you?”

He shrugs. “We’ve been together for a year now, and we haven’t had sex yet. I feel like we’re in a good place, and while I didn’t want to push it, I felt like maybe it was time for that next step.”

She slides off of him and sits back in her seat, looking out the window. 

“Start the car.” She says, her voice alarmingly even. 

“Tess. I’m-.” He starts to say, thinking maybe he’s crossed a line assuming she was ready for this next step.

“Scott, I need you to start the car because if we aren’t home in the next few minutes I’m going to jump you in the parking lot and we are much too old to fuck in the back of a car in an ice rink parking lot.” She says, and when she turns to look at him he feels his entire body melt at the sight of the plain hunger and fire in her eyes. 

They make it home in record time, and needless to say neither of their thoughts turn to Tori for the rest of the night. Or early morning.

\----------

February 2021

“Hello my girls!” Scott calls out as he walks into their apartment. Tori’s screams from her doorway bouncer when she hears him, and he laughs as he watches her bounce up and down in excitement. “Look at you go, what a big girl.” 

She coos at him, and he squats down to get her out when he spies Tessa sitting in the arm chair by the window. She’s watching them, but he can tell her mind is a million miles away.

“Tess?” He calls out softly, and her head jerks up to meet his eye as if she hadn’t noticed him before. She’s pale, and her hands are shaking and he can tell she’s been crying. He’s on the ottoman across from her in seconds, cupping her face in his hands. “T, what’s wrong?”

She shakes her head, and her gaze falls back on Tori. “Something happened today.”

“What happened?” Scott asks, and he feels dread washing over him. “Is something wrong with you or Tori?”

She shakes her head, and turns her gaze to her hands in her lap. “I ran into Josh at the store.”

Scott feels his blood run cold, and he can feel his own hands shaking now. He breathes slowly; trying to control the anger that bubbles up inside him at the name of the man who abandoned Tessa before Tori was even born.

“I took Tori with me to pick up some groceries, and he was there. He’s in town for the week for a conference apparently.” She explains. “He took one look at Tori and he knew.”

Scott lets out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Are you okay?”

“No.” She whimpers. “I already called JF and scheduled a session for me tomorrow.”

He’s so proud of her in that moment for seeking help and not bottling up her emotions like she’s done in the past. 

“I figured if I ever saw him again I’d be fine, but I was just so angry.” She confesses. “He wanted to know about Tori.”

She pulls away from him and gets up to pace the room. He lets her, knowing she needs an outlet for her nervous energy. 

“I told him he had no part in her life, and that I wasn’t willing to share anything with him. He said he understood, but then he brought up the fact that he knew you’re raising her with me and how he thought it was odd that we were pretending you are her father.”

That comment feels like a punch to the gut, and Scott has to close his eyes and count to ten in his head to prevent himself from hunting Josh down and punching him in the face. 

“He asked how we were going to explain that to her someday, and I didn’t even know what to say.” Tessa says, her hands crossed so hard across her chest that Scott can see the tendons jumping in her arms. “What are we going to tell her, Scott? What happens if she finds out from someone that isn’t us? What if the media finds out? I mean do we even tell her?”

“Slow down, Tess.” He says calmly, and she shakes her head frantically at him.

“How can I slow down when I have to make the impossible decision of whether or not to tell my daughter someday that her father isn’t actually her father?” She yells. Tori bursts into tears, and Tessa collapses into a heap on the ground, sobbing. 

Scott’s the one that gets up and calms Tori down. He takes her to the nursery, and puts her in the crib with a few of her soft toys to keep her entertained. Tessa’s still crying into her knees on the floor when he walks back into the living room. He sits across from her, giving her space. 

“Our situation is kind of fucked up.” He says softly. “I wish I had an answer for you, I do. You’re right that Tori is your daughter, more so than mine. She may be legally mine, but there is a part of her that never will be.”

Tessa looks up at him with swollen eyes, and wipes her tears with the sleeves of her sweater. 

“Every day I wake up and wish she was yours more than anything.” Tessa whimpers. “I hope that her eyes might shift from blue-green to hazel and that her hair will get darker, and they never will.”

Scott nods, because he too has had those same unrealistic hopes since the day Tori was born. 

“Josh abandoned me because of her, and that’s a decision I’ll never understand because she is the most beautiful, sweet little girl I’ve ever met.” Tessa says. “You stepped in and you’ve done so much for her. I’m so grateful Scott, I am, but this situation is just so messed up.”

“Then let’s talk it out.” Scott says, reaching out a hand and putting it on her ankle. “Josh is out of the picture, and while he may share DNA with Tori it really doesn’t matter. He has no parenting rights.”

Tessa nods, and he lets his hand creep up to her knee. 

“I get that he abandoned you, Tess, but I'm not going anywhere. I don’t understand why he did that and I know that it’s maybe left you a little more hurt than you’ve let on.”

She shrugs and grips her knees tighter to her body. “We’ve already discussed Josh, and why I was with him to begin with, but it didn’t make him leaving me over Tori any easier. He left me in a bad situation. He knew I didn’t want kids, and then as soon as I told him I was pregnant he was out the door without a second glance.”

“I know.” Scott says softly, and he gently puts an arm around her. She’s tense for a second before relaxing into him.

“I can set him leaving me aside, but the fact that he’s left me to explain to Tori someday that her biological father didn’t want her…” A sob rips from her throat, and she presses the back of her hand to her mouth. “What do I tell her, Scott?”

He sits there and holds her, not knowing what to tell her. Part of him wants Tori to never know she has a father besides him. He’s been there since before she was born, and he’s the only father she’ll ever have. She may be part Josh, but she was all Moir. But, he knows that the rumors will fly the older she gets and the more doesn’t look like him. 

“I don’t think there is an easy answer, Tess.” He says, his own voice choked up. “There is no simple way to explain that she has a different father or that you and I didn’t get married until long after she was born.”

“What happens when we have another baby?” Tessa asks, lip quivering. “I don’t want her to feel like she’s less a part of this family because she isn’t yours.” 

That’s something Scott had never considered, and the rooms seems to spin around him for a second. He was so looking forward to a baby someday that was the perfect mix of him and Tessa that he never considered how that would make Tori feel down the road. He doesn’t notice how badly his hands are shaking until Tessa is cupping them in her own. 

“Scott, listen to me.” She says, sniffling. “Tori is yours. She is your baby girl through and through. You were the first to hold her besides me, and you’re the one that makes her smile more than anybody else. You’re the one she goes to when she wants to play, and you’re the one that gets her to stop crying the easiest.”

Tessa reaches a hand out and wipes his tears on the cuff of her sweater. “Your name may not be on birth certificate, but it is on the adoption papers. Nobody can deny you that you are her father. When we have a baby someday you will be as much a father to that little one as you are Tori.”

“I know.” He says softly, and clears his throat. “I know, T. I love Tori with everything I have, but there is this part of me that knows she’ll never be mine as much as I want her to be.”

Tessa snuggles into his side, and they sit there in silence together.

“I’ll never regret you having her, because Tori is Tori.” He says, and Tessa hums under her breath. “I’ll also never regret how we got together, even though we’re…” He pauses, looking for the right word to fit what they are. 

“Fucked up?” Tessa supplies, and Scott can’t help the wet laugh that escapes his lips, which sets Tessa off too. They’re leaning on each other for support by the time their laughter dies off.

“We’re just us, Tess. Virtue and Moir. Tessa and Scott.” He says, leaning his forehead against hers. “Nobody can define that or take it away from us, not Josh or the media or our fans.”

“Now we’re Tessa, Scott and Tori and no one can take that from us either.” Tessa says softly. “Someday we’ll be Tessa, Scott, Tori and baby Moir. We are a family, and that’s all that matters.

“Family.” Scott repeats, and then tilts her chin up and kisses her. 

\----------

March 2021

“Here comes the airplane, Tori.” Scott says, making buzzing sounds as he moves the small spoon through the air towards Tori’s mouth. She opens it up and lets him slide the pureed peas into her mouth. She seems to consider them for a second, and then opens her mouth and lets it all slide down her chin. 

“Oh gross, Tori.” Tessa says, looking up from her dinner when Scott makes a frustrated sound. “Eat your peas.”

Scott scoops up the peas from her chin and tries again. Tori swallows some of it, but the face she makes tells him that she isn’t a big fan of the green vegetable.

“There has to be something else, she hates it.” He says, and Tessa sighs and gets up to rummage in kitchen. She comes back with a jar of pureed carrots and hands it to him.

“She likes this better, but we have to keep making her try stuff she doesn’t like.” Tessa reminds him as she sits back down. 

“I know, I just hate to see her upset.” He says, and Tori happily eats the carrots off the spoon.

“You mean you like to spoil her.” Tessa replies, and Scott rolls his eyes at her, but she does have a point. “Alright, remind me again of the schedule for next week.”

Scott grabs his binder out his bag next to him and hands it to her to inspect. The ISU World Junior Championships were the following week, and he’d be gone for almost two weeks with the Gadbois teams for the competition. His junior team had made it in, and despite their low ranking they were determined to make a splash at the biggest competition of the year. 

“I fly out Monday, and I’ll be back a week and a half after that.” He says. Tori babbles at him, and he loads up another spoonful for her. “I’m going to miss you both so much.”

Tessa looks up from his calendar and gives him a sad smile. “We’re going to miss you too, won’t we Tori?”

Tori squeals at them, spitting out her mouthful of carrot in excitement and Scott groans as he watches it slide all the way down her bib and on to her onesie. 

\----------

The flight to Taipei City is long, and Scott tries to spend most of it sleeping, knowing it would be a busy few days as his team prepped for competition. He tiredly drags his suitcase into his hotel room after they land, and he contemplates waiting to unpack it, but knows if he doesn’t do it then he never will. He’s pulling his t-shirts and Canada jackets out of his suitcase when he feels his fingers hit something soft. He pulls the clothes aside, and he feels a lump in his throat when he sees one of Tori’s baby blankets tucked between a sweatshirt and pair of sweatpants. A note is pinned to it, written in Tessa’s familiar script.

It reads: “Scott – I figured you might need something to get you through the week, and thought one of Tori’s blankets might do the trick. We both love you so much, and can’t wait for you to be home. Love T.”

He clutches the blanket close to his chest, and breathes in the familiar scent that’s a mix of Tori’s baby smell, their laundry detergent and Tessa’s strawberry shampoo. It’s not like having them there, but it eases the ache in his chest.

The week seems to fly by between coaching his team and helping Patch and Marie with the other teams, and by the time the short dance competition happens he’s excited to realize he only has a few days left before they fly home. His team does well in the short dance, and he thinks that they could fight for bronze in the free dance if they put on another great performance. He promised to FaceTime Tessa as soon as he was back at the hotel, and he sits on the bed and waits for the call to connect. 

Tessa answers it with an exhausted look on her face and something green in her hair. 

“Your daughter is killing me.” Tessa groans, and Scott tries to fight back the laugh that bubbles up his throat, but it escapes when he spies Tori equally covered in green goo in the background. 

“Don’t you laugh at me, Scott Patrick Moir.” Tessa threatens. “I’ve got pureed peas all over me, the baby and my kitchen floor.”

“She just doesn’t like peas, babe.” He says, smiling fondly at her.

“Don’t “babe” me.” Tessa huffs. “You wouldn’t be laughing if you had to clean up a pea covered baby.”

“No, you’re right.” Scott says. “Are you both doing okay other than the peas?”

“Yeah, we’re alright.” Tessa says, her pout fading into a smile. “She’s been really good until now.”

He sees Tori smear the peas on her face, laughing as it drips down onto the highchair table. 

“I would love to talk to you more, but she’s making a mess and I can feel the peas starting to dry on my chest.” Tessa sighs and disconnects, leaving Scott laughing softly. 

\----------

April 2021

After a busy season, Scott had jumped at the chance when his mom had mentioned Danny would be home for a week with his kids for their spring break, so he and Tessa made the trip home to Ilderton. Tessa was eager to get some baby proofing tips from Danny’s Tessa, and his mom was delighted to spend some time with Tori. He’s helping his mom in the kitchen with dinner when he hears his Tessa call for him. 

“What, T?” He asks as he walks into the living room, and she frantically waves him over. 

“Come on Tori, you can do it. Come to mommy.” She coos, and Tori slowly pulls herself onto her hand and knees and makes her way over to them. “Good girl! Look at you go.”

“She’s crawling.” Scott says, staring as Tori inches her way along. “Oh my god.”

Tori makes her way to Tessa’s lap, and Tessa pulls her close. Scott crouches down and presses a kiss to Tori’s head and he hears Danny make a comment behind them about how sickeningly cute they are. 

“Oh my god.” Scott says again when realization sets in that they now have a mobile baby on their hands. “We are going to have to move everything off the floor in our apartment.”

With most of the family in town, Alma hosts dinner a few days later and invites Kate to come as well. It’s a smaller crowd than Christmas, but still just as cheerful. Tori eats happily in her highchair and Scott and Tessa take turns feeding her mashed potatoes amongst conversations about upcoming events at the Ilderton rink and plans for the summer. Scott sees the moment Tori goes to spit out some of the mashed potato that Tessa had just put in her mouth, and he shakes his head at her.

“Tori.” He says in warning, and she turns to look at him. He stares at her for a second, and she bangs her hands on the tray table as though to ask him what he wanted. 

“Tess.” He says, pulling Tessa away from the conversation she was having with his father. “Say her name and see if she responds to it.”

Tessa raises her eyebrows, but does it anyway. 

“Tori.” She says, and Tori immediately turns to look at Tessa. “Do you know your name, smart girl?”

Tori babbles at her, and Tessa laughs. 

“Oh, really? You are just so talkative today.” Tessa says. 

“Apparently she just wants to hit all her eight month milestones in Ilderton.” Alma says with a wink, and Scott can’t help the laugh that bubbles out of him. 

“She’s growing so fast.” Tessa says quietly, just for his ears after everyone turns back to their meals and conversations. “I wish she’d slow down.”

It feels like just yesterday Tori was placed in his arms for the first time, and now that little girl knows her name and can move around on her own. “Me too, Tess. Me too.”

\----------

May 2021

“So I was thinking.” Tessa says one night as they sit on the floor with Tori between. The baby could sit up easily on her own at nine months, and loved to play with the colorful soft blocks and toys they’d put out for her. “I was talking with Jeff Buttle, and he said he’d love for us to do some guest appearances for Stars on Ice next week.”

“Geez, Tess. That isn’t much notice.” He says. They’ve gotten back to skating regularly in the evenings, and they’ve choreographed a few pieces, but he isn’t sure they’re performance ready. 

“We’ve worked with less time before.” She replies, waving her hand as if they won’t be performing in front of thousands in just a few days. “I told him I’d ask you first, but he wants us for Ottawa and Montreal. We wouldn’t have to do the group numbers, just two pieces of our own.”

Scott considers the offer for a moment, thinking through their current pieces and wondering if they can polish them off enough to be ready in a week. The thought of performing in front of a crowd with Tessa again puts a smile on his face, and he can’t say no.They train like crazy in the days following, bringing in Patch, Marie and Sam to help them put the finishing touches on each performance. They recycle some old costumes from seasons past in the days prior (thanks to a little alteration magic from Mathieu), and then they’re waiting in the wings at the Montreal show. 

“Please welcome back to the ice, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.” The announcer says, and the crowd screams as they take to the ice in their Latch costumes, with Tessa in pink and him in blue. 

The opening chords of their first piece starts, and the smile on Tessa’s face makes the music choice worth it. After years of denying her, Scott had allowed her to choreography them a piece to the music of Pride and Prejudice. He had to admit it was a beautiful piece as they floated along to the music together, and how could he deny her when she played the “I spent 12 hours in labor with Tori, you owe me this” card? The music drifts from “Dawn” to “A Postcard to Henry Purce” and then into “Mrs. Darcy” to finish. The crowd gives them a standing ovation, and Scott pulls her into a hug when he sees the tears on her cheeks. 

“Happy tears.” She yells to him over the crowd as they get ready to take their bows. 

They watch the rest of the first half from the wings, and then change for their second piece. Usually they tried to vary their styles in performances, but when they had skated to “Wildfire” by Seafret for the first time they knew it would be a piece they had to choreograph, especially once they mashed it with “Daughter’” by Sleeping At Last. Scott stands in the dark, nervously shaking his legs as he waits for Tessa to join them so they can go on. 

Her hand slips into his, and together they step on to the ice. As the lights come up he can’t help but gasp at the sight of Tessa in her “Long Time Running” dress. The moment feels so right, and as they make their way through the opening sequence Scott feels like they’re flying. Tessa is beaming, and Scott mirrors her because no matter where their relationship goes it always comes back to this- to skating. As they drop into their final pose as “Daughter” ends, kneeling on one knee across from each other, he can’t help put reach out and cup her cheek.   
They take their bows, and he watches as Tessa skates off to the side to collect their daughter from Marie-France as the lights dim. The crowd screams in excitement at seeing their little family together, and Scott knows they made the right decision to return to the ice. 

\----------

June 2021

“She’s on the move.” Scott calls out, and Tessa peaks her head around the corner into their bedroom. Tori has pulled herself up off the floor using the armchair, and is holding on to it tightly as she stands there. They both watch as she looks around and then drops down onto her bottom. 

“Yay Tori!” Tessa cheers, and Scott picks the baby up to stop her whimpers from turning into full blown sobs. Tori was getting good at standing, but she wasn’t great at the falling down part yet. She wiggles in his arms and whimpers until he lets her down again. 

“So instead of date night I was thinking we could have a date afternoon tomorrow.” Tessa says, twisting the tie on her robe. She’s grinning at him, so Scott knows she must be planning something good. 

“We’ll have to run it by Marie and Patch, but I’m sure they won’t mind.” He tells her, and then helps Tori back up after she topples over again. 

“Actually I thought we could bring Tori with us, make it a family date day.” Tessa replies, sorting through a few hangers in the closet as she picks what to wear for the day. “What I’ve got planned is kind of a family thing anyway.”

“Alright.” Scott says, raising an eyebrow at her. “Do I get to know what it is?”

Tessa smirks and shakes her head at him. “No, it’s a surprise.” 

“Ugh, fine!” He exclaims, flopping onto his back on the floor, which sends Tori into giggles. “Your mommy is hiding things from me, baby girl. Go get her for me.”

Tori crawls on him instead, and he tickles her until her shrieks of laughter fill the room.

\----------

Tessa insists on driving the next day since she’s the one with the plan, so Scott sits in the passenger seat and keeps an eye on Tori thanks to the mirror affixed to her car seat. They pull into a residential neighborhood, and Scott admires the tree lined streets and higher end houses. Tessa pulls into the driveway of a house with a “for sale” sign, and Scott thinks he has whiplash from how quickly he turns towards her. 

“I thought we should look for a house.” She says in way of explanation. “I love the apartment, but we’re outgrowing it quickly. We need room for when our families come to stay, and Tori needs space to run like we did growing up.”

“You’re sure?” Scott asks her, and she nods. He pulls her into a hug across the center console, and he can feel Tessa smiling into his neck. Tori babbles away in the back seat, never one to be left out, and Tessa pulls away from their hug to get out of the car and release Tori from the car seat. The realtor pulls up a few minutes later, and lets them in the large house. 

After that they spend most of the morning going through house after house in several neighborhoods. They veto most of them for a long list of reasons. Scott doesn’t like the ones without yard space, and Tessa doesn’t want to be too far from downtown. They both don’t like a few of the neighborhoods, and the others they liked just weren’t the right houses for them. Some of the homes were too small, or need too much renovation work. Scott can’t help his eyes from nearly bugging out of his head each time he hears the price tags attached to the homes they look at, but Tessa sends him a warning look each time. 

Finally after hours they pull up in front of a house not far from Marie and Patch, and with one look they both know it’s theirs. The neighborhood is lovely, and one that Marie and Patch have enjoyed living in for years. The house is big enough that it can fit their families comfortably and looks recently remodeled. The price is extravagant, but Tessa assures him she’s done the math, and between the two of them it’s doable. The realtor unlocks the door, telling them all the features of the home, but Scott gets too caught up in looking around to hear her. 

He can imagine pumpkins on the front steps in the fall and a big Christmas tree in the front windows in the winter. He can see Tori running around the open floor plan as she gets older, and Tessa burning toast in the mornings at the kitchen island. He can imagine himself sitting by the fireplace with a newborn on his chest, and Tessa at his side.

“Scott?” Tessa says, and her gentle touch on his shoulder draws him out of his daydream. 

“Sorry, I was just imaging it all.” He says. She tilts her head to the side, and Tori mirrors her. He laughs, and pulls Tori from her arms. 

“Imaging what?” Tessa asks.

“Our future here.” He replies, and she beams at him. 

“I’m so glad you like it too! It’s got such great history, but it still feels fresh and modern.” Tessa gushes, and he follows her around the living space as she points out the things she likes. He follows her up the stairs to the second floor, and into each room they pass. 

“The realtor said there are four bedrooms up here, so we have lots of choices.” Tessa explains. “I think the room closest to the master bedroom would be a good office space for us, and the one across from it could be Tori’s.”

“The one by the stairs and the bathroom would be a great guest bedroom.” Scott says as they walk by it. “That just leaves this one.”

They push the door open to the room next to Tori’s and the sunlight bounces off the white walls. It’s airy, and has a little window seat. 

“What’s this room going to be? Your walk-in closet?” He jokes, and Tessa fondly rolls her eyes. 

“No, I was thinking it could be the nursery someday.” She tells him, sitting in the window seat. He can’t help but stare at her as the light catches her dark hair, creating almost a halo around her head. 

“I love you, you know that?” Scott asks, and she shakes her head and laughs. 

“I love you too.” She says, and Tori bounces in his arms and strains towards Tessa. “I love you too, Tori.”

“So this is it then? This is our house?” He asks, and he knows her answer before she even says it. 

“This is our house.”

\----------

July 2021

Despite it being summer, Scott and Tessa try to stick to their normal, daily schedule as best as they can. Tori is used to the back and forth during the day, but the older she gets the more fussy she gets sitting still with him in the office. He can usually keep her occupied with a few toys or a nap, but for whatever reason she was particularly restless. Scott gives up on writing out his latest choreography, and picks a yelling Tori up out of her pack n’ play. 

“Why are you yelling?” Scott asks her, and she quiets down as soon as she’s settled in his arms. He sighs and tries to put her back down, only for her to start screaming again. “Fine, okay, I hear you.”

He’s glad he’s got his skates still on his feet, and he pulls off his guards when he gets to the ice. He steps on, pushing off into lazy laps around the rink. Tori giggles and holds on to him tightly.

“Do you want to go fast?” He asks her, and he zips around smoothly, his laughter mixing with Tori’s. Scott does that for a while, letting the feeling of his blades in the ice clear his mind and entertain Tori. Time slips away from him, and Tori has her head buried into his neck when he realizes how long he’s been out there.

“Should I come back later?” He hears from across the ice, and he looks up to see Tessa waiting on the bench. He skates over to her, and gives her a quick kiss.

“I didn’t realize how long we were out here.” He confesses. “She was being fussy, so I thought it would do us both some good to get out of the office.”

Tessa gives him a knowing smile, and reaches to take Tori from him so he can get off the ice. 

“Say bye to daddy, Tori.” Tessa says, but Tori has a hand firmly latched into his shirt. Scott untangles her fingers, and Tori pouts at him.

“Oh you’re alright you little monkey. Daddy will see you in a few hours for dinner.” He says, smoothing her windswept hair off her forehead. 

“Dada.”

“Did she just-.” Tessa says, her eyes huge as she looks up at Scott, but Scott barely notices as he locks eyes with Tori. 

“Say it again, baby girl.” Scott says softly. “Who am I?”

“Dada.” Tori repeats, and Scott pulls her from Tessa’s arms and twirls her around. 

“That’s right! You’re so smart!” He praises, and tears fill his eyes as Tori smiles at him. “Of all the first words to choose from you go with “dada.” Cause you are a daddy’s girl.”

“She is.” Tessa sniffles and he looks up to see Tessa beaming at him with tears in her own eyes. 

“I bet she’ll say mama next.” Scott reassures her, thinking for one minute that maybe Tessa is disappointed. She shakes her head as if she’s heard his thought, and puts an arm around him. He pulls her into his side. 

“She said the name of the man who’s most important to the both of us.” Tessa says, and presses a kiss to Scott’s cheek. 

After a loud dinner in which Tori keeps showing off her new word, Scott puts Tori down for the night. She drifts off easily after a long day, and presses a kiss to her downy, soft hair before grabbing the baby monitor and walking quietly out of the room. Tessa sits on their terrace, a glass of wine in her hand now that Tori’s down for the night and she won’t have to worry about breastfeeding for at least a few hours. Scott navigates his way around the few boxes stacked against the wall in preparation for their move to the new house in the next few weeks, and joins her on the outdoor couch. 

She holds a glass of wine out to him, and he gladly accepts it.

“What are we toasting to tonight?” Scott asks. “Our brilliant daughter and her new grasp on the English language?”

Tessa smiles at his suggestion, but it doesn’t earn the laugh out of her that he expected. Something seems off, and he raises an eyebrow at her to let her know that he’s on to her. 

“I was thinking we could toast to our impending engagement.” She says, and Scott nearly sloshes all the wine out of his glass as she quickly clinks her glass against his and throws back a full gulp of wine as if she’s doing a shot. Scott quickly takes a sip of his own wine, never taking his eyes off her. 

“So what are you saying, cause I don’t want to make an assumption and get the wrong idea here.” He says slowly, and he grabs the glass out of her hand, placing them both on the wicker coffee table.

“I’m saying I’m ready for you to propose.” Tessa says bluntly, and Scott feels like someone has set a thousand butterflies loose in his stomach. 

“What changed?” He asks.

“Tori called you her dad today.” Tessa says, and shrugs sheepishly. “It just made me realize that I didn’t know why I was waiting anymore. I was so scared that this was just too good to be true when I was pregnant, but every day since you found out you’ve proven to me that you want this life with me.”

She takes a breath, and lets out a watery laugh as she wipes a tear from her cheek. Scott feels like his heart might burst out of his chest.

“You know I’ve seen you as Tori’s father since the day you offered to be her father, but there was just something about seeing her know who you are and say who you are today that just made everything feel like it finally slipped in place. We’ve been together in this unconventional, strange and maybe a little messed up relationship for a year now. We have a beautiful daughter together, and we’ll have a house in a matter of days.”

Tessa lets the tears run unchecked down her cheeks now, and Scott wipes a few away with his thumb.

“Most importantly I love you. We’ve spent so many years dancing our way through this relationship, in good times and bad, with and without each other. I’m tired of us pulling away every time we get close to being happy together, and I’m ready to commit. So this is my proposal for your proposal.”

She giggles at her own phrase, and Scott captures her mouth against his. They stay like that for a while, making out with the twinkling city lights of Montreal around them. He pulls back eventually, and they rest their foreheads against each other. 

“So we’re engaged?” Tessa asks breathlessly. 

“No.” He says, and he can feel the moment her body tenses. He pulls her against him to reassure her he isn’t saying no to her. “I’ve waited so long for this moment, Tess, and I’m so happy. But, I want you to get the proposal you deserve. Something romantic and beautiful and us.”

“This isn’t romantic?” Tessa teases. “I thought I did a pretty good job.”

“You did.” Scott replies, nuzzling his nose against her temple. “I’m so happy right now, T. I’m excited to take this next step together, but I really want to propose to you on my own terms. Let’s remember this day for just the two of us. Maybe it’s our anniversary.”

Tessa laughs, because it’s an ongoing joke for them of what they should consider their actual anniversary for dating after Marie-France brought it up. 

“I could live with that.” Tessa replies. “So Mr. Moir, now that the tables are turned, when are you going to be ready to propose to me?”

He pulls her in for another kiss, and when they break apart, he whispers against her lips, “Soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you thought of it.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a heads up, this chapter covers a lot of time in a few small sections, ranging from August 2021 to August 2022. So, if the timeline gets confusing for anyone at any point please feel free to leave a comment. I'll be happy to clarify what my crazy, writing brain didn't make clear to begin with lol :)
> 
> On a side note, I accidentally put Tori's birthday in the birth announcement last chapter as 9-9-20, when it's actually 8-9-20. Eventually I will go back and fix it, but I just haven't gotten to it yet!

August 2021

Scott had no idea that a first birthday party could be such a production. With everything finally moved into their new house, Tessa had decided to combine their house warming party with Tori’s birthday. The days prior to the party are filled with decoration buying and a stressed out Tessa as she coordinates both the party and everyone’s arrivals. 

“My mom is going to share the upstairs guest room with Jordan, and your parents are going to take the downstairs guest room.” Tessa tells him, a pencil in her hand as she jots notes all over their master plan for the party. 

“Danny and Charlie’s families are coming the day before and staying downtown.” Scott reminds her. “Casey and Kevin are doing the same.”

“Cara is going to stay with Marie-France and Patch.” Tessa replies. “Team Canada is all going to stay downtown too. I offered Chiddy an air mattress in the spare bedroom, but he said no.”

Scott smirks, thinking that Chiddy is a smart man to avoid all the Virtue’s and Moir’s that will be running around. 

“I think everyone is accounted for.” Tessa says, setting down the pencil with a heavy sigh. “The caterers are brining all the food the morning of and Marie-France offered to pick up the cake. We’ll just have to decorate the night before.”

“Tess,” He says, pulling her into his chest. “It’s all going to be great. Don’t stress so much about it.”

She nods into his chest, and he presses a kiss to the top of her head. He sort of regrets those words a few days later when they both forgot to pick up the balloons, and have to send Jordan out ten minutes before the party starts. But, other than the one minor mishap the party set up goes off without a hitch. Their house is filled to the brim with family and friends, and it spills out into their spacious backyard where all the kids run around with the water balloons Scott insisted they needed for the party.

After her mother, Kaitlyn, Marie-France and Alma all kick Tessa out of the house over the span of an hour to go and enjoy her own party, Scott finds her settled on the swing in their backyard. Tori is sitting in her lap, enjoying the gentle back and forth motion. 

“There’s my girls!” He says as he approaches, and Tessa smiles at him. 

“Dada. Dada.” Tori says, reaching out for him. He scoops her up out of Tessa’s arms, and throws her in the air. Tori giggles and screams, and Scott settles her on his hip once she’s back in his arms. 

“Looks like this party is a hit, T.” Scott tells Tessa. 

“It better be with the amount of planning that went into it.” Tessa replies, rolling her eyes, but with a fond smile on her face. She checks her watch and looks towards the back porch. “It’s almost time for cake.”

Scott can’t help but grin, both at Tessa keeping everything to a schedule as usual and at the idea of Tori smashing cake on her face. Sure enough, Kate brings out the cake a few minutes later and Tessa stands from her perch on the swing and walks a couple feet ahead of them. Tori wiggles in his arms as she sees everyone starting to gather, and Scott sets her down on her feet and holds her hands to help her slowly walk in front of him. 

“Mama!” Tori yells, and Tessa turns around and bends down. 

“What Tori?” She asks, opening her arms to her. Scott can feel Tori pulling away from him and once he’s sure she has her balance, he lets go. Tori’s good at standing on her own, and she stands and looks around for a second. Tessa shoots Scott a look over the top of Tori’s head, and squats down as best as she can in a sundress to get on the baby’s level.

“Come here, sweetheart.” Tessa says. “Come to mama, Tori.”

Tori immediately looks at Tessa and smiles. Shakily, she takes a few slow steps forward and pauses. 

“That’s it! Just a little more.” Tessa coaches her, eyes shining with tears as their daughter takes her first steps. Tori takes the few extra steps to get to her, crashing into Tessa’s arms. Scott can feel the tears on his own cheeks as he watches Tessa stand up and twirl Tori around. 

“Good girl!” Scott crows, wrapping his arms around Tessa and Tori. “Daddy is so proud of you.”

“Dada.” Tori repeats diligently. It’s then that Scott realizes their whole family is cheering, and he’s so grateful when he spies Kaitlyn recording the moment on her phone for them. 

“I think our big walker deserves some cake.” Tessa says, and they walk over to the porch. Someone’s brought the highchair outside, and Kate helps Tessa wrangle a wiggly Tori into a bib to protect her purple birthday dress. Once everyone is situated and Kaitlyn confirms she’s recording everything, they all start to sing Happy Birthday. Only a few notes in Tori’s bottom lip starts to quiver, clearly not enjoying all the noise and attention, and Scott bends down and makes faces at her to keep her happy until the song is over. After everyone has finished singing (very off-key Scott might add, likely thanks to his brothers), Tessa places the small, individual cake for Tori in front of her. 

“Go ahead, baby girl. That’s for you.” Scott tells her, and Tori looks up at him with a puzzled look on her face. She looks back down at the cake, and then back up to him and Tessa. 

“I don’t think she knows what it is.” Tessa giggles. She scoops a little bit of frosting onto her finger and eats it. “See Tori, yummy!” 

Tori hesitantly puts a finger on the cake, but goes no further. 

“Well this is not the reaction I expected.” Scott says, and Tessa snorts. “I shouldn’t be surprised that she’s not a messy eater. She’s exactly like you.”

Tessa ignores his comment, and instead puts a little cake on her finger and holds it up to Tori’s lips. The baby happily eats it off Tessa’s finger and then smiles as she tastes it. 

“There we go. She has her mama’s sweet tooth.” Marie-France says, and everyone laughs, knowing Tessa’s passion for chocolate and sweet things well. Tori puts her finger in the cake again, but won’t eat it unless Tessa puts it on her finger first. Scott tries to push Tori’s hand into the cake to urge her to eat it on her own, but once her hand is coated in frosting Tori stares at it with what can only be described as a look of horror.

“Scott!” Tessa scolds, and Jordan is quick to supply her with a baby wipe to get it off Tori’s hand before she bursts into full blown sobs.

“Sorry, Tori.” Scott says, pressing a kiss to the top of the baby’s head. After Tessa deems Tori has had enough, the main cake is passed around and people settle both inside and outside of the house to eat. 

Everyone stays late, leading to a bonfire in the fire pit and many shared rides to the hotel as everyone gets a little tipsy. Kate, Alma and Jordan split cleaning up the house and yard, and Scott is beyond grateful as he passes them on the way to help Tessa put Tori down. 

“I’m scared if I change her she’ll wake up.” Tessa whispers, glancing down at the sleeping baby in her arms. Tori had passed out over an hour ago, oblivious to her very loud aunts and uncles around the fire pit. 

“We’ve got this.” Scott says, and together they slowly get Tori out of her dress and into a fresh diaper and onesie. It’s touch and go for a few minutes as they put her in the crib, but their successful as they grab the baby monitor and back quietly out of the room. They both breathe a sigh of relief as they crack the door, and Scott hands Tessa the baby monitor. 

“I’m going to use the bathroom real quick, I’ll meet you downstairs.” He tells her, and she nods before walking down the stairs. Scott makes his way back to their bedroom, and roots around in their sock drawer. 

His hands close around the sock holding the jewelry box, and he smiles softly down at it as he pulls the box out and flips it open. Tessa’s grandmother’s engagement ring is just as beautiful and sparkly as the last time he looked it, and he slips it into his pocket.

Tessa had told him the month before she was ready for him to propose after months of waiting, but he had made her wait it out a little. He’d wanted the moment to be special, something that fit their relationship and personalities. He’d thought for weeks about how he was going to do it. Danny had suggested a romantic night out, while Patch had suggested doing it after one of their skating sessions. Marie-France had thought it would be a good idea to do it with Tori there, while Jordan had called him an idiot for waiting too long and making too big a deal out of it.   
Funnily enough, it was Jordan that give him the idea to do it today of all days. Sure, Tessa would have been just as happy being proposed to after a night out, or after a skating session or with Tori in her arms, but Tessa was a simple woman at heart. She loved when he did simple, romantic things for her, like doing the laundry when it was her turn or cooking her favorite meal. She hated when he planned big dates or did something in front of a crowd. 

No, today was the perfect day because the baby that had given them the push they needed to get to this point had turned one. 

He makes his way downstairs, and spies Tessa in the backyard with Kate, just where he wants her. He slips out the door, and touches Kate’s arm softly where she is bagging up some used paper plates. 

“You wanted to be the first to know.” He says simply, and pulls the ring out of his pocket. Kate blinks back tears, and presses a kiss to his cheek. She walks into the house, sending a wink his way before closing the door. Tessa is by the fire, really more tiny flames and simmering coals at this point, but the dim lighting and the white Christmas tree lights strung throughout the backyard for the occasion make her glow. 

“Come sit with me.” Scott says, patting the swing as he sits down. 

“I’d love to, but I really need to finish cleaning up the yard before we have raccoons all over the place.” Tessa replies, shoving what seems to be the millionth beer bottle into a garbage bag. 

“Just a few minutes, please.” Scott says with a pout, knowing she can’t resist him when he gives her that look. She huffs and moves towards him, proving his point. 

“Today was perfect.” Tessa says once she’s sitting, her head on his shoulder. “I knew it would be a wonderful day, but Tori walking for the first time was just icing on the cake. Literally.”

He snorts at her pun, and grasps her left hand in his. 

“I think I can make it even more perfect.” He tells her, and she lifts her head to look at him. He slowly gets up, and then turns to face her before dropping down on one knee. 

“Scott.” She breathes out, her free hand pressing to her mouth. 

“I have a whole little speech, so just hear me out.” He says, squeezing her hand. “A year ago today you made me one of the happiest men alive by bringing our daughter into this world. A few months before that you turned my life completely around by telling me you were pregnant. During those months you and I feel into this funny, strange little relationship, and I’m so glad. After years of back and forth, I feel like we’re finally steady. We took a shitty situation a little over a year ago and turned it into a beautiful one by making our own little family. Some may say we did things out of order, but if you ask me, we’ve never exactly followed what people expect of us. T, you and I have been breaking people’s expectations for over 20 years, and coming together to raise Tori has continued to show that.”

He has to stop for a second to clear his throat and wipe at his eyes. Tessa’s face is so tear stained he knows there is no sense in trying to wipe away her tears. He smiles wetly at her instead. 

“I’m so honored that you let me into your life, and let me be Tori’s father. You both make me so happy every day, even through the all the crying and dirty diapers. I know our journey to this moment hasn’t been easy, and there have been a lot of compromises and arguments and really tough moments. But you know what, Tess? We made it. We’ve got the most beautiful little one year old daughter, and our relationship is stronger than ever. I asked you to tell me when you were ready for the next step for us, and a month ago you told me it was time. You made me so happy that night, and I’m so glad that you told me you’d be saying yes if I proposed, because I would be so much more nervous right now if I didn’t know that.”

Tessa lets out one of her laughing-sobs, and it makes Scotts heart squeeze in his chest. 

“So I might already know the answer, but I want to double check. Tessa Jane McCormick Virtue, will you make me the happiest man alive, again, and marry me?”

Tessa’s nodding and sobbing as he slips the ring onto her finger. She crushes her lips against his, and all he can taste is their combined tears and sugary frosting. 

\----------

Five Months Later  
February 2022 – The 2022 Winter Olympics 

“Good evening Canada, I’m Kurt Browning, and tonight I’m joined by two very special guests who are here to talk a little bit about their own Olympic experiences.” Kurt Browning says as he smiles into the camera. “Please welcome Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. Welcome you two.”

“Thank you so much, we’re so happy to be here.” Tessa says, and Scott squeezes her waist as they sit in the uncomfortable studio chairs in the CBC booth at the Olympics games. It had officially been four years since he and Tessa had won gold, and they’d both been in high demand for interviews. Scott had already planned on being there to assist Marie-France and Patch, but having Tessa there was an added bonus after she had decided to tag along for a week. 

“It’s officially been four years since you two won gold for Team Canada in ice dance. Looking back now, what was that moment like for you?” Kurt asks. 

“I don’t feel a lot different now than I did right after it happened honestly.” Scott says. “I was just so proud of what we accomplished. Winning gold was obviously our goal, so to achieve that was a dream come true.”

“Yeah. I think looking back now I feel even more humbled.” Tessa continues. “We were both just so happy to be able to represent Canada again on Olympic ice.”

Scott watches her as she speaks, and he knows that the people on social media will be all over them for it afterwards. He can’t bring himself to care, because for just those few seconds he feels like he’s back in Pyeongchang, doing interviews with the weight of a gold medal around his neck and Tessa always at his side. 

“Things are very different for you now; I’m sure, being here and not competing.” Kurt says. “Can you talk a little bit about that, Scott?”

“Yeah, it’s really strange. You know we did some commentating for a few competitions before our comeback season, so we know what it’s like to go to events and not compete. It’s really odd to be here and not feel that pressure of representing our country at the biggest competition there is.” He tells him, and he can feel Tessa watching him. “I’m here to help Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon with their teams, and that’s still a position I’m adjusting to. Thankfully I’ve got my partner here for the week to help me out and keep me entertained.”

Scott knows Tessa is going to give him a stern talking to about his wording afterwards, but he turns and smiles at her, reaching out his hand for her to hold. She does, giving his a squeeze. 

“Your relationship is much different now than 2018, based on the ring on your finger, Tessa.” Kurt says, and Scott can feel Tessa tense. They’d kept their engagement quiet, making sure to avoid the media as best as they could, but they both had felt it was time to share their news. After working with their PR team, doing one interview with the biggest Canadian broadcasting company had been their final decision. 

“Yeah, it definitely is. We’ve been engaged since August now, and our daughter is a year and a half old.” Tessa says, and Scott can see her media smile slip into place. “A lot has changed since 2018, but we’re both really happy.”

He squeezes her hand, giving her the quiet support he knows she needs. She squeezes back, letting him know she’s okay. 

“Yes, your birth announcement certainly sent shock waves throughout the skating community and media.” Kurt says, raising an eyebrow. “There was always speculation, but as far as people knew you two weren’t together.”

“We were two years into retirement when Tessa got pregnant, and we were really enjoying being out of the spot light and letting the next generation of ice dancers take to the ice.” Scott replies, keeping to the story they had built with the PR team. “Tessa and I wanted to keep the focus off of us, and we’re private people to begin with, so we chose not to announce our relationship status.”

“And then Tori came along.” Kurt says, and Scott can’t help but smile at the mention of her name. The TV screen between them flips to a picture of Tori from Tessa’s birth announcement and then slides through a few pictures before landing on the one of Tori dressed in her Team Canada flannel, standing with her back to the camera. Tessa and Scott have their flannels on in the picture too, each of them holding her hands on either side. Kate had taken it before they flew to Beijing, and it makes both he and Tessa grin.

“Yeah, our daughter Victoria was born in August of 2020.” Tessa says. “She’s got us wrapped around her little finger, that’s for sure.”

“Tori has been such a blessing for us.” Scott says, smiling at Tessa before turning back to Kurt. “She’s the funniest, most beautiful, little thing and such a perfect mix of the both of us.” It’s not exactly a lie, Tori has picked up a lot of Scott’s mannerisms, but Scott knew if anyone looked at her too closely they’d notice she didn’t have a single Moir trait. Thankfully, Tori looked like a carbon copy of Tessa, so it wasn’t super noticeable, but Scott knew more questions would rise the older she got. For now though, their secret was safe. 

“So what is next for you two?” Kurt asks them, leaning forward. 

“I’m in full wedding planning mode right now.” Tessa says with a laugh. “We are getting married this summer, and Tori will be two in August, so we’re very busy.”

“Yeah, I’m just glad we had time to sneak away for a week and come back to the sport we both have loved for so many years.” Scott says.

“Well thank you both so much for being here. I know all of Canada is behind me when I say we all wish you the best of luck with your wedding this summer.” Kurt says, and then the lights go off on the camera, indicating that the interview is finished. Scott can physically see Tessa relax, but ever the professional she goes around thanking the crew before they make their escape from the set. Once they’re back in their room, they both lie on the bed and stare up at the ceiling.

“This jetlag is killing me.” Scott moans. “I feel old and I want to sleep.”

Tessa hums next to him and groans when her phone buzzes with a text. 

“Mom wants to FaceTime with us tonight to go over the flower arrangements one more time.” She says, and Scott rubs at his eyes. If he has to look at one more vase he’s going to lose his mind.

“Tess, please, don’t make me. You want peonies and those crystal vases, and I’m fine with that because I want you to have what you want.” He says, and he leans over to press kiss to his cheek. 

“Thank you for letting me have my way, but you still have to look.” She replies. “Besides, you’ll get to see Tori and we both know you won’t pass that up.”

He knows she’s right, and he will gladly suffer through looking at different arrangements of peonies and tulips and whatever other flowers Tessa wants if it means seeing their daughter. 

Five months later on July 9 he’s surrounded by pink and white peonies outside on the steps of the Old Courthouse in London as he waits nervously for Tessa to walk down the aisle. In that moment Scott wishes their wedding party wasn’t so big, because the numbers of bridesmaids he has to wait through to get to Tessa seems never ending. A few of Tessa’s friends walk down the aisle first, followed by Kaitlyn, Miku and Marie-France. Jordan, the maid of honor, smiles at Scott from the back of the crowd as she takes Tori’s hand and guides her down the aisle.

Scott can feel his heart melt at the site of Tori in her puffy, white flower girl dress. She’s crumpling the flowers in her hands before scattering them in the aisle, and it makes the crowd giggle as Jordan has to keep encouraging her to continue walking. By the time they finally reach the end of the aisle, Tori’s long out of flower petals and is pulling away from Jordan’s grasp once she sees Scott. 

“Daddy!” She calls out, excitedly. He bends down, nodding at Jordan to break from the plan and let Tori stay with him. He lifts her up into his arms, and she settles easily on his hip and leans her head on his shoulder. Mahler’s Fifth Symphony starts up, and Scott looks down the aisle and waits for Tessa to appear. When she does, he feels like someone’s knocked all the air out of his lungs.   
She’s dressed in a gorgeous lace and tulle dress. It’s fitted down to her waist, and flairs out a little to create a bit of fullness to the skirt. Its strapless, leaving her shoulders exposed to the July sun. Her hair is coiled into a low bun that rest against her neck, and a delicate floral barrette it clipped into the side of her hair. A long veil flutters in the breeze behind her, and Scott thinks she’s the most beautiful bride he’s ever seen. 

Her eyes are brimming with tears when their eyes meet, and he smiles at her as he wipes the tears from his face. Tori pats his cheek, and he presses a kiss to her head, not able to tear his eyes away from Tessa coming towards him. When she makes it to the altar, he offers her his hand, and together they stand on the steps in front of their family and friends, ready to take that final step in their relationship together. 

\----------

The reception is an absolute ragger of a party that goes late into the night. The Moir’s had insisted on having it on their land, and so they’d rented out the largest party tent they could find to hold all their guests. Scott’s sure the food was delicious, but between visiting with their friends and family and participating in the various reception activities that Alma and Kate insisted on, the only thing he eats is the bite of cake he and Tessa exchange. Getting to dance with Tessa as his wife for the first time makes up for it though.

“Today has been perfect.” Tessa whispers to him as they slowly sway on the dance floor. 

“It really has.” He tells her, leaning his head down to press a kiss to her lips. “You know what would make it better?”

“Hm?” She hums back, eyes closed. 

“Some food.” He replies, and Tessa bursts out laughing against his chest. “I’m serious, T. I’m starving. You have to be hungry too.”

“I could eat a horse.” Tessa says, smiling up at him. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to sit long enough to eat though.”

“Leave that up to me.” Scott tells her, and he dips her as the song ends. The clinking of glasses from the Team Canada table fills the air and they oblige their friends with a quick kiss. Scott skirts around to the edge of tent, enlisting Cara’s help in a brief escape. Within ten minutes he and Tessa have their backs pressed to the catering truck and what’s left of the hors d’oeuvres at their disposal, and Cara’s promise of helping them stay hidden for at least another fifteen minutes. 

“I don’t think food has ever tasted this good.” Tessa moans around a mouthful of cheese. Scott can’t even bother to respond as he inhales the mini meatballs. By the time they’ve had their fill, Cara is peeking around the truck and signaling to them that their time is up. 

“It was nice to be alone while it lasted.” Scott says, thumping his head against the truck and staring up at the bright stars. 

“We have a whole week to ourselves starting tomorrow night.” Tessa says, pressing a hand against his chest as she leans in for a kiss. Scott tilts his head down to meet her lips and they stay like that for a few minutes until they both hear Cara clearing her throat at them.

“Yeah Cara, we hear you.” He says loudly as he pulls away from Tessa. Scott takes Tessa’s hand, and together they make their way back towards the tent to the party. 

“Twenty-four hours, Scott. Then you and I can have our way with each other.” Tessa says with a wink, and then Jordan is pulling her away to do the bouquet toss. Scott watches her go, and he has to take a deep breath to keep himself together before following her into the tent.

\---------

A few days later, Scott thinks that the hustle and bustle of their wedding day was worth it in exchange for their honeymoon. They’d both decided somewhere tropical was the way to go after seeing most of Europe during competitions. It’s just the two of them on the beach outside their rental home, not family or friends or even Tori to bother them.

“I love our daughter, but I’m really glad she’s staying with your mom.” Scott confesses as he sits up slightly on his beach towel. Tessa’s laying on her stomach, letting the sun beat down on her back. 

“Mhm, me too.” Tessa responds sleepily. “I think we are going to have to send my mom on vacation as a thank you though. She texted me that Tori has had some temper tantrums over us not being home.”

Scott feels his heart squeeze a little at that, because he never likes to see or hear that Tori is upset, especially when it involves him not being there for her. 

“Scott.” Tessa says, reaching a hand out to clutch his hand, as though she’s read his thoughts. “It’s okay. She’s just too little to understand what’s going on. She’ll be fine, especially when she has her play date with your mom and Charlotte later today.”

“I know.” Scott breathes out. “I hate leaving her though. She’s changing so much everyday and she’s becoming this actual little person now.”

Tessa turns onto her back, and looks up at him, squinting against the bright sun. “She’s grown so much. She’ll always be our little girl, but she’s a true toddler now.”

“I don’t know if we’re ready for a toddler.” Scott says with a laugh. “Based off our nieces and nephews the terrible two’s are going to be brutal.”

“Don’t remind me.” Tessa groans, lifting an arm to rest behind her head. “Between the potty training and the tantrums and the constant questions we’re going to have our hands full.”

“We’ll have fun though.” Scott says with a smile. 

“We will.” Tessa replies, but there is some hesitancy to her smile that has Scott second guessing her. 

“T, you know we’ll be fine, right?” Scott asks. “Tori’s such a good girl. I honestly doubt that she’ll be terrible.”

“It’s not that. It’s just that I’m not sure if we can handle having a toddler and a baby.” Tessa says.

Scott feels like his stomach flip-flops. 

“You’re pregnant?” He gasps. “But you drank at the wedding!”

“I’m not pregnant.” Tessa laughs. “I think I’d be a little more careful than that if I was.”

“Then what are you saying?” Scott asks, and he tries to fight the excitement that builds up inside him at the prospect of having another baby in the house so soon. 

“I’m saying that I’m ready for us to start trying.” Tessa replies, tipping her sunglasses down on her nose so she can look at him over them. “That is if you are ready too.”

“Of course, Tess.” He says, crawling off his towel and onto hers. “I’m so ready.”

He pulls her against his chest and tilts his head down to kiss her. Tessa cards her fingers in his hair as she throws a leg around his back. Scott puts an arm around her waist, pulling her firm against him. He rolls over her, making her gasp as he kisses his way down her neck and chest. 

“Scott.” She mutters, gently pushing him away. 

“What, T?” He groans, dropping his head to her collarbone. 

“I’m not having sex on the beach.” She giggles. “We’ll get sand everywhere.”

Scott hums, and then wiggles his eyebrows at her. 

“Well if you won’t have sex on the beach, how about sex in our cabana?” He asks, and he can see Tessa’s eyes darken at the suggestion. Seeing her response answers his question, and he pulls her to her feet and then lifts her in his arms. 

“Scott!” She shrieks in surprise. “What are you doing?”

“Getting you to our cabana in the quickest way possible.” He replies, and she laughs as he jogs with her in his arms across their beach.

\----------

After a glorious week of alone time, they’re back in Montreal and getting back into the swing of the figure skating season. Between the both of them working with the teams at the rink and Tori’s second birthday coming up, they’re both exhausted. 

Tessa had officially been with Gadbois for a year to help with the creative side of things, so the busiest time of year for her was the beginning of the junior season. Scott would catch her on the ice or between their sessions, stealing quick kisses in the hallways or sneaking out for lunch together. Some days they brought Tori to the rink, but now that she liked to run around they relied on a babysitter that Marie-France had recommended to watch her in the mornings until Tessa got home in the early afternoon. 

Tessa is particularly pale one morning, and Scott watches her from a distance as she helps his junior team work on their choreography. The team is halfway through a run of their program when Tessa presses a hand to her mouth and high tales it off the ice. 

“Tess?” Scott asks when she jumps off the ice, and his concern double when she doesn’t even stop to put her skate guards on and instead sprints to the nearest trashcan. He jogs after her, and gets to her just in time to pull a few wispy pieces of hair that has escaped her bun away from her mouth. Scott rubs a soothing hand up and down her back as she heaves, and he slips a hand under her sweatshirt to feel her back for a fever. 

“I’m fine.” Tessa says once she deems herself done, and she shakily pulls herself back up to the full height. “My eggs must not have agreed with me this morning.”

“You’re sure you’re fine?” He asks her, handing her his water bottle for her to drink. She nods as she drinks, and hands it back to him after a few sips. 

“Yeah, I feel fine now.” She assures him. “I’m going to go back out on the ice with your team; I’ve still got thirty minutes left to help them polish their short dance.”

Scott his hesitant to let Tessa go, knowing that it’s rare she throws up unless she’s really sick or really nervous. She gives him a knowing look, and shakes her head slightly in a way that tells him not to push her. He pulls his hand away from her back, his nonverbal go ahead for her to walk away, and she gives him a soft smile before stepping back out on to the ice. 

The next few days are packed with coaching, and in any spare time he has, Scott is helping decorate and set up for Tori’s second birthday party. It was going to be a smaller affair than her first birthday, which they were both grateful for with as busy as they are. Scott wakes up the morning of the party to an empty bed, and he frowns when he feels the sheets next to him are cold. He assumes Tessa’s already up and about until he hears deep breathing from their bathroom.

“Tess?” He says softly as he cracks the door open. The lights are off, but he can see Tessa lying on the floor by the toilet. 

“Hey.” She croaks out, and he gets down on his knees at her side. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll get up.”

“How long have you been in here?” Scott asks her, rubbing his thumb across her hipbone. 

“An hour or so. I woke up really nauseous this morning. I think I picked up a bug, and that’s probably why I got sick at the rink earlier this week.” She tells him. He helps her sit up slowly, and she breathes carefully in through her nose and out through her mouth as she gets upright.

“Why don’t you try to get a little more sleep?” Scott suggests, guiding her back towards the bed. “My parents and your mom can help me set up and watch Tori.”

“Scott, I’m fine.” She argues, but he can see how pale and shaky she is now that they’re back in the early morning light in their bedroom. 

“Tessa, please, for me.” He argues, and she nods slightly and lets him tuck her back into bed. Once he’s sure that she’ll stay put, he slips out of the room and heads downstairs. Tori is already awake and eating pancakes with Kate’s assistance, and both his parents are washing the dishes. 

“Daddy, pancakes!” Tori cheers excitedly, and Scott presses a kiss to the top of her head. 

“I see, baby girl. How about daddy has some with you?” He asks, and Tori nods at him. 

Alma places a plate full of them in front of him, and he thanks her as he sits down.

“Where’s Tessa?” His mom asks. “I have enough for her too.”

“You might want to pop them in the refrigerator.” Scott tells her. “I’m hoping she won’t be down for a while.”

Both Kate and Alma give him an unimpressed look, and he quickly realizes what his comment sounded like. 

“Geez, not like that!” He rushes out. “She’s not feeling well, so I told her to sleep some more.”

“Oh dear. What’s wrong with her?” Kate asks, and gives Tori a hard look when she tries to put her hand in the syrup.

“She’s really nauseous. We think she picked up some sort of stomach bug earlier this week.” Scott explains. “She threw up at the rink the other day.”

“Well we can handle getting everything ready then, you make sure she rests.” Alma says firmly, and Kate nods. “Between Kate and your father and I we have everything covered.”

He thanks all of them, and after a few hours the house is decorated, the food made and their guests arriving. Kate had gotten Tori into her dress, and Tessa had finally made her appearance after a few extra hours of sleep. By the time both of their families are there, as well as Marie-France, Patch and Billie-Rose, the party is in full swing. Tori rips through the wrapping paper on her presents with glee, and they have a hard time tearing her away from her presents when it’s time for cake.

“Come on, baby girl. Cake time.” Scott says, scooping her up. She pouts at him in what is a perfect replica of Tessa’s pout. “No, no pouting. You can play with your new toys after you have cake.”

He gets her situated in her chair at the table as Tessa places the cake in front of her. After everyone sings Happy Birthday to her, which she handles much better than she did at her first birthday, Tessa crouches down at her side.

“Can you blow out the candles?” Tessa asks her, and then mimes blowing them out. Tori follows her lead, and together they blow out the two candles on the cake. Everyone cheers, and Tori claps along with them. 

“Do you want cake?” Scott asks Tori once they’ve cut up a few pieces to pass around. 

“No!” Tori giggles, and Scott sighs as he places the cake in front of her. Everything was “no” the past few weeks, a phase that he had not been looking forward to. 

“Cake, Tess?” He asks her. He goes to hand her the plate, but she pushes it back into his hands. He can tell she’s breathing carefully through her mouth. 

“Sorry, I’m still a little queasy.” She tells him, and he quickly hands the cake off to someone else before anyone notices Tessa not indulging her sweet tooth. 

The rest of the party goes off without a hitch, and it’s the last relaxing weekend for the Moir’s and Dubreuil-Lauzon’s before they dive head first into competition season. 

\----------

Scott’s in Germany a few days after Tori’s birthday party with his junior team for their first Junior Grand Prix assignment of the season. His team places first, a hard fought win after building up their skills and rankings over their first few years in juniors. The flight home from Germany is long when Scott is so eager to get home, and he breathes a sigh of relief when he pulls into their garage in Montreal on a hot, Sunday August night.

“Tess, I’m home!” He calls out when he walks in. The house is quiet, and Scott knows it’s late enough that Tessa’s probably already put Tori down for the night. 

“In the kitchen.” She calls softly back. Scott pulls her into a hug and a kiss, and she burrows her head into his chest. 

“Hi, I missed you.” He says softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead when he pulls back. She smiles at him, and he notices the dark circles under her eyes and how pale she still is. “Still not feeling great?”

“It comes and goes.” She replies, shrugging at him. He wants to say something more about it, about how maybe it’s time she go to the doctor, but Tessa is quick to change the subject. “I haven’t eaten yet, so I’m warming up some of the lasagna my mom made and froze for us when she was here last week.”

“Sounds good.” Scott tells her, walking around the counter to peak into the oven. He opens the oven door, but no heat spills out. 

“Tess, babe, I don’t think the oven’s on.” He says slowly, not wanting to upset her. Tessa may not be the best cook, but he knows she at least can operate the oven. 

“Oh, whoops.” She says with a smile. “Guess I forgot to turn it on. Well, pull out the lasagna and we can have something else.”

Scott shakes his head fondly, and reaches down to pull out what he assumes will be lasagna in a baking dish. He does a double take when all he sees in the oven is a singular bun sitting on the middle rack. 

“T, why is there a bun in our oven?” He asks, and once the words are out of his mouth he feels like the whole world has titled on its axis. He reaches out a hand to steady himself against the countertop, and Tessa gets up and walks over to him. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.” Tessa laughs wetly. 

“You’re pregnant?” He asks, grabbing her forearm. 

“I’m pregnant.” She confirms, and they they’re both laughing and crying as they grab onto each other. “I was supposed to have my period the week before Tori’s birthday, but when it never came I just assumed it was from the stress of the start of the season on top of planning Tori’s party.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Scott asks, trying to think back to the weeks prior.

“I wanted to be sure. Once I started throwing up I had a pretty good idea why, but I wanted to wait until I was over a week late to take a test.” She tells him. “I was officially a week a late on Tori’s birthday, so I waited until you left to buy a test.”

“I can’t believe you’ve kept this from me all week.” Scott laughs, because Tessa is the worst liar he knows, and he had called everyday while he was gone to check on her. 

“Believe me, it wasn’t easy.” Tessa says, wiping her tears from her cheeks. “I know we said we wanted a baby, but this has happened really quickly.”

“I can honestly say I didn’t expect it to happen so soon. I thought you were on birth control?” Scott asks her, and then pulls her tight against his chest. 

“I was, but between the wedding and us not exactly being careful I wasn’t taking my pills as regularly as I should have.” She tells him. “I know this is sudden Scott, so are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“Oh my god, Tess, I’m so happy.” He tells her, pulling her back and cupping her cheeks so he can press kisses all over her face. “I didn’t think it would only take one try for us to get pregnant, but I’m still thrilled. How far along are you?”

“I’m in the five to six weeks range according to the test, so it definitely happened on our honeymoon.” Tessa tells him. 

“We’re having a honeymoon baby.” Scott gushes and then burst into laughter. “Our family will never let us live that down.”

Tessa starts laughing too, and they both sink to the floor with their backs pressed to the cupboards, looking into the open oven at the perfect bun sitting there. 

“We made a baby, T.” Scott says softly, and reaches a hand over to rest on her still flat abs. He’s so amazed in that moment, that a tiny little being made up of him and Tessa rests under his palm. Tessa puts her hand on top of his, and rests her head against his shoulder. Scott honestly thinks that he couldn’t be any happier in his life than in that moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! It's hard to believe that this story only has one chapter left.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm so sorry that this chapter is so late. I've been super busy, and the writing for this chapter and the next few have been slow. I decided to add an additional two chapters and break up Tessa's pregnancy more. I think this will help me mentally knowing that it's chunked into sections. It seems a lot less daunting that way, and I'm eager to get back in the writing saddle. 
> 
> In addition I've got a few story ideas I'm bouncing around, so I'm trying to balance writing this story with getting the plotlines ready for the new ones!
> 
> Hopefully this smaller chapter was worth the wait :)

August 2022

For as happy as Scott had been about Tessa’s pregnancy, his joy quickly fades to concern as Tessa’s morning sickness continues to worsen. The nausea and vomiting that had plagued her every few days before was now a constant presence. 

“Whoever decided to call this morning sickness was clearly never pregnant.” Tessa complains after making a mad dash to the bathroom from the dinner table one night, and Scott knows that nothing he’ll say can make her feel any better. 

“You’re at nine weeks, and most women start to feel better by 12 weeks right?” Scott asks, hoping that maybe she’ll see the silver lining. 

She gives him a weak smile and shakes her head. “I was still feeling pretty sick at 14 weeks with Tori, remember?”

“You seemed okay after that week though.” Scott replies. “When you told me you were pregnant with Tori you said your morning sickness was bad, but you never seemed that sick.” 

Tessa shrugs and gets to her feet, and Scott follows her back into the kitchen, where Tori is pushing her peas around on her plate. She smiles at them as they sit back down, and Scott can tell Tessa is giving Tori her best media smile as she slyly pushes her plate away without their daughter noticing. 

“Eat your peas, sweetheart.” Tessa prompts, and Tori pouts but shoves a few in her mouth. She eyeballs Scott, and he puts a spoonful in his mouth and nods encouragingly. Tori seems pleased with his reaction, and eats a few more. Vegetables were an ongoing battle with her, and one that Tessa was determined to win each time she set a serving of them in front of Tori. 

“Mommy, eat peas.” Tori says, pointing over at Tessa’s plate. 

“Mommy doesn’t feel very good, Tori. Her tummy hurts.” Scott explains, and Tori’s brow wrinkles as she takes in what he said.

“Tummy hurt.” She repeats, and Scott nods. 

“You know what would make mommy feel better, Tori?” Tessa asks. “If you ate your peas.”

Tori pops a few more in her mouth with a grin, and Tessa smiles back. Scott only wishes that Tori eating her peas would actually make Tessa feel at least a little better. 

The first week of September doesn’t see any improvement in Tessa’s morning sickness, and Scott is more and more reluctant to leave the house in the morning. He pushes his sessions with his juniors around when he can, but a consistent schedule is key to their success, so he often leaves Tessa hunched over their bathroom toilet. He comes home for lunch on a Friday afternoon to Tessa curled up on her side on the couch, a bucket by her head and Tori quietly responding to the prompts on the TV as Mickey Mouse asks questions about the shapes in his clubhouse. 

“Tess, you okay?” Scott asks as he bends over the couch to press a kiss to her forehead. 

“My head hurts and if I move I throw up.” Tessa mutters, keeping her eyes firmly shut. 

“What can I do?” Scott asks her, brushing a few wispy pieces of hair away from her face. 

“Take Tori this afternoon, please.” Tessa says, and then whimpers as she pulls herself up enough to hover over the trashcan. Scott rounds the couch and pulls the trashcan into her lap just in time for her to violently vomit. He rubs a soothing hand up and down her back, but his stomach is in knots at just how sick she is. After she finishes he makes quick work of getting her to drink a little water and settle back down on the couch. 

He cleans out the trashcan while Tori finishes the episode she’s watching, so used to Tessa getting sick that she hadn’t even questioned her mother vomiting behind her, and by the time everything is clean he only has fifteen minutes before he has to be back at the rink. He quickly packs a few things for him and Tori to eat, and grabs her little backpack full of activities they keep for when she has to come with one of them to an event. 

“Do you need anything before we go?” Scott asks, crouching down to Tessa’s eye level. 

“No, I’m fine.” She tells him, cracking her eyes open to look at him. He places a kiss to her forehead, hovering over her for a second as he sends up a silent prayer that the nausea recedes enough for her to sleep while they’re gone. He scoops Tori up and rushes out the door, and while he’s a few minutes late for a coaches’ meeting, Marie-France is more than happy to forgive him when she spots Tori in his arms. 

“Tessa still sick?” Marie asks as he hands Tori over to her. Tori snuggles into Marie’s arms, and Marie presses a kiss to the top of her head. They hadn’t told anyone yet that Tessa was pregnant again with her only being 10 weeks along, and Scott had been telling people at the rink she had the flu to try and cover for her. His story was becoming less and less believable the longer she was actually sick.

“Yeah, she’s really nauseous today. She asked me to take Tori so she could get some rest.” Scott tells her. 

“Have you been to the doctor?” Marie questions as Tori wiggles out of her arms and plops herself down on the ground with her backpack and dumps everything out of it and onto the coaching office floor.

Scott shrugs sheepishly, already knowing his answer won't fly with Marie-France. “She just has to fight through it.”

"Mhm, sure." Marie rolls her eyes at him. “I love you, Scott, but you are the worst liar.”

“Why is Scott a bad liar?” Patch asks as he walks in, crouching down to ruffle Tori’s hair.

“Tessa is still sick, and Scott just informed me that the doctor says Tessa has to ‘fight through’ the nausea and vomiting.” Marie says, crossing her arms. 

“Ah, well that’s just how it is with morning sickness, isn’t it Scott?” Patch says, standing up straight and giving him an eerily similar stare to what his wife is currently giving him.

“I don’t know what you guys are talking about.” Scott says. Realistically he knows he’s a terrible liar, and it’s led him to making some dumb comments in interviews throughout the years (Tessa never lets him live his “band mates” comment down), but he doesn’t want to tell Marie and Patch without talking to Tessa first. 

“Mon dieu, Scott. I’ve seen Tessa sick maybe twice in the entirety of knowing her. Once was before Nationals, and the other when she was pregnant with this little one.” Marie says, gesturing down at Tori who is happily handing Patch her crayons one at a time. 

“I’ve seen her throw up at least three times in the past three weeks.” Patch says, arching an eyebrow. “Tessa isn’t one to get sick much either, especially not at the end of summer.”

Scott realizes he really can’t escape his former coaches’ scrutiny, and he lets out a heavy sigh and nods. 

“She’s ten weeks along.” Scott admits, and Marie pulls him in for a hug. “You have to swear not to say anything to anyone, we haven’t even told our family yet. The morning sickness has been horrible, so we’re both a little on edge I think.”

“We won’t say a word to anyone.” Patch says, standing up to clap a hand on Scott’s shoulder. Tori pulls herself to her feet and tugs at Patch’s hand until he gives her all the crayons she’d handed him back. “What can we do to help?”

“I wish I knew. Besides maybe watching Tori some I don’t think there is much you can do.” Scott says, pasting on a smile as Tori looks up at him upon hearing her name. “Tess is miserable, and nothing seems to help.”

“Poor dear.” Marie frowns. “I had terrible morning sickness with Billie-Rose too.”

Patch shakes his head with a distant look in his eyes. “Terrible is an understatement.”

“Patrice got really good at finding things that helped me feel better. His mother gave him the best recipe for this tea that helped to ease the nausea.” Marie explains.

“I’d be more than happy to make some for Tessa.” Patch says, and Scott nods. He figures he should probably ask Tessa first, knowing that she’s having a hard time holding down water and crackers let alone tea, but he’s so desperate to help her that he agrees. “It’s an off day for my seniors this afternoon, so I can go to the store now and pick up the ingredients and head to your place.”

“Thank you, I’ll let Tessa know your coming.” Scott tells him, firing off a text to Tessa. 

“Now onto the ice you go, your team has been waiting for you.” Marie says, waving him out the door. “We will have our meeting later. Miss Tori and I are going to have some girl time.”

\----------

Scott comes home to a quiet house later that afternoon. Patch’s car is still in the driveway, so Scott knows he must be there. Tori is quiet as she rests against his chest; drowsy from having missed her naptime. He peeks his head into the living room, and smiles softly at the sight he sees. 

Patrice is sitting on the couch watching TV, and Tessa is slumped against his side. A half drunk mug of tea sits on the coffee table in front of her. Patch smiles at him, and Scott gestures he’s going to put Tori down for her nap. He’s back downstairs a few minutes later, and he slowly makes his way over to the couch.

“The tea helped some I think.” Patch quips, tilting his head down to look at where Tessa is resting against his arm. “She fell asleep about a half hour after having some.”

“It’s the soundest I’ve seen her sleep in a week.” Scott says, marveling at how relaxed Tessa looks. “What the hell is in that tea?”

“Lauzon family secret.” Patch says with a wink. “But, I’m willing to make it as often as she needs it.”

“If she hadn’t passed out I’m sure she would thank you.” Scott tells him, carefully pulling Tessa’s feet into his lap so he can sit. 

“I have to be honest, Scott. Marie-France had terrible morning sickness, but it was never this bad.” Patch confesses. “Tessa has lost weight since I saw her a week ago.”

Scott nods, because it’s something he’d noticed too. Tessa’s body was a well-oiled machine, still firmly toned even a few years post-Olympics and post-pregnancy. In the weeks since she’d been sick, however, her muscle tone had started to waste away and her cheek bones were a little too sharp for Scott’s liking. 

“Is she holding anything down?” Patch asks. “Marie could usually manage a least some water and crackers.”

“We’ve tried that, but she usually just throws it right back up.” Scott tells him. “She’s getting headaches too.”

Patch shakes his head and glances back down at Tessa, running a soft hand over her hair as she shifts in her sleep. “She needs to go see her doctor, Scott. Morning sickness this bad is nothing to mess around with.”

“I know, I’ve been trying to get her to go, but she’s just so exhausted and I don’t want to stress her out more.” Scott tells him, rubbing a hand across his eyes. 

Tessa lurches in Patch’s arms suddenly, and snaps her fingers towards the bucket sitting on the floor. Scott quickly places it in front of her, and she practically projectile vomits. Patch pulls her hair back from her face, and Scott keep the bucket steady. By the time the dry heaves stop, Tessa’s sweating and she’s paler than she was before. 

“I’m sorr-.” Tessa starts to rasp out, and then sways. Scott feels like his stomach has dropped to the floor as her eyes roll back and she falls back into Patch’s chest. Patch immediately slides out from under her, getting her flat on her back and then onto her side in case she gets sick again. He presses his fingers to her neck. 

“Her pulse is pretty quick.” Patch remarks, and Scott hovers over them both. “Get the car started, we need to take her to the hospital now.”

Scott nods, and he feels like his feet are planted to the floor as he watches Patch carefully scoop Tessa into his arms. He’s terrified, seeing how limp Tessa is and how she seems to get paler by the second. Thoughts flood his mind, and he thinks over and over again about how he can’t lose her. He’s so scared that he’s going to lose her and their baby all in one go. He can’t raise Tori by himself, he needs her. If Tessa dies-.

“Scott!” Patch says firmly, shaking him from his thoughts. “Get Tori, and then get the car started. Tessa will be fine, but she needs you to pull yourself together, okay?”

“Right, yeah.” Scott says, and then turns and sprints up the stairs to get Tori. She’s still asleep, thankfully, and Scott scoops her up and rushes out to the car. He buckles her into her car seat and then dashes around to the driver’s seat. It takes a few tries to get the keys in, and once he’s got the car successfully started he runs back into the house. 

“You’re alright, Tessa.” Patch is saying softly, and Scott feels a fraction better when he sees Tessa’s eyes are open. 

“Tess?” Scott says, cupping Tessa’s cheek in his hand. 

“Scott?” She whimpers, and Scott feels relief flood his body as she turns her gaze to him. “I don’t understand, what’s going on?”

“You passed out, T. We’re going to the hospital.” Scott tells her, and Patch walks quickly out the front door with Tessa in his arms. It takes the both of them to get Tessa situated in the front seat. Patch forces Scott into the backseat, reasoning with him that he’s too panicked to drive them to the hospital safely. Scott leans forward the whole time, squeezing Tessa’s hand in his own. By the time they pull into the emergency department bay, Tessa’s fading in and out of consciousness. Scott jumps out of the backseat and pulls Tessa into his arms. 

“Go, I’ll park and bring Tori.” Patch tells him, and Scott nods before rushing in with Tessa. Apparently running in with a barely conscious woman in your arms is enough to get you seen right away, and he’s quickly led to a private exam room. He explains what’s going on to the nurse and ER doctor, and they inform him that they’ll page for Tessa’s OBGYN. 

“Well I didn’t expect to see you two so soon.” Tessa’s doctor says as she walks in a few minutes later, and Scott doesn’t think he’s ever been so relieved for a doctor to be on-call in his life. 

“Her morning sickness is out of control.” Scott tells her. “She was really tired today and couldn’t hold anything down, and she told me her head hurt. Our skating coach, Patrice, made her some special tea that seemed to help, but she threw that up too. She passed out and has been in and out of it since.”

Tessa’s doctor hums, as she quickly checks Tessa’s pulse. The nurse next to her records the information, along with a few other stats. 

“I’m going to have some blood work done, but it seems pretty clear to me that Tessa is dealing with Hyperemesis Gravidarum. Essentially it’s extreme morning sickness.” The doctor explains. “She had some rough morning sickness with Tori too, but this is definitely worse.”

“What do we do?” Scott asks her. “I can’t stand to see her like this. There must be something we can do.”

“I’m going to have an IV started so we can get some fluid in her. I’d like to admit her at least for tonight so we can try and get her rested and hydrated, and to make sure the baby is getting the nutrients it needs.” The doctor says. “After that I can put her on some medication to try and ease the nausea and vomiting, but unfortunately it’s just something that’s going to take time and careful monitoring.”

Tessa groans on the exam table, and Scott runs his fingers soothingly across her temple. She turns her head into the touch, and opens her eyes to look at him. The doctor relays everything to Tessa, and the nurse makes quick work of getting an IV in place. Patch texts him from the waiting room, letting them know that he and Tori are there and that Marie is on her way. 

“Alright Tessa, I’m going to have you moved up to the maternity ward so we can keep an eye on your for tonight.” The doctor says, and a few orderlies help move her over to a hospital bed. Tessa holds her hand out for Scott, and he doesn’t let go until he helps her into her room and settles in the bed with her in his arms.

\---------------

The following weeks of September are slightly better as the medication helps control some of Tessa’s morning sickness. Scott doesn’t have to rush her to the hospital again, so he counts that as a win in his books. Tori is antsy as Tessa spends most of her days in bed or on the couch, and she starts throwing the “terrible two” tantrums that Scott had hoped they’d avoid.

“Tori, eat your lunch.” Scott says firmly as she attempts to escape from the kitchen table for the second time. 

“No!” Tori says, and then laughs as him. Scott resists the urge to scream, because it isn’t the first time today that Tori has responded that way. She’d been the same way the night before, and he’d stood his ground last night over her finishing her dinner. Of course that had ended up with Tori falling to a ball on the floor and screaming and crying loudly enough that Tessa had gotten out of bed to see what was causing such a commotion. 

“I made your favorite, baby girl. Sit down and eat please.” Scott says, and Tori shakes her head and crosses her arms. He’s struck again by just how much she looks like Tessa, and he’s reminded of when he and Tessa were young and she went through her bossy phase. 

“Want mommy.” Tori says firmly. Scott rubs at his temple, knowing that Tori is strong willed enough to not eat until she sees Tessa. 

“Fine. First we’ll see mommy, but then you have to eat, okay?” He bargains, and he can’t but feel ridiculous that he’s bargaining with his two year old. 

Tori nods, and he helps her up the stairs and into their bedroom. He pokes his head in first to make sure Tessa is awake, and she gives him a smile from where she’s nestled in bed. She pauses the movie she had running on her laptop, and she sets it to the side. Scott opens the door wider, and lets Tori run past him and over to Tessa.

“Hi sweetheart.” Tessa coos, and Scott scoops Tori up and lets her crawl into Tessa’s waiting arms. 

“Mommy.” Tori sighs contentedly, and she nuzzles in close against Tessa’s chest. 

Scott groans and sits down next to Tessa on the other side of the bed. “She wouldn’t eat her lunch unless she saw you first.”

Tessa hums, and runs her fingers through Tori’s messy hair. “It’s okay, I miss seeing her.”

They both sit there quietly for a few minutes, and Scott can see Tori dozing off as she slumps further and further into Tessa’s arms.

“Feeling any better today?” Scott asks Tessa, rolling on to his side so he can look at her. 

“A little bit, yeah. I’ve only thrown up a couple of times.” Tessa tells him with a weak smile. 

“I wish I knew what I could do to make you feel better.” Scott says, and Tessa huffs at him, because he says the same phrase every day. “Yeah, I know. I really need to come up with a new way of saying that don’t I?”

“Yeah, you do.” Tessa says. Her eyes slip shut, and Scott watches as she breathes through a wave of nausea. 

“What was it like at this point when you were pregnant with Tori?” Scott asks her once her breathing returns to normal. It’s a topic they both avoid normally, not wanting to bring up the pain that accompanied those first few weeks of Tessa going through her pregnancy alone. 

“I got nauseous really early with her, so it wasn’t that much different from my pregnancy now.” Tessa tells him. “I was really nauseous, and I threw up some, but it wasn’t even close to as bad as this time. It happened more in the mornings too, and I was usually fine by the afternoon.”

“You seemed fine when you told me you were pregnant back then. I never noticed you were sick in the weeks before you told me.” Scott replies. “Was I just not as observant as I thought?”

“Oh no, Scott.” Tessa says softly. “I tried to hide how sick I felt. I relied heavily on our sessions coming a little later in the morning since we weren’t competing, and I drank a lot of ginger tea and ate a ton of crackers too. I did my best to make sure that no one knew I was pregnant.”

Scott nods, because it’s a conversation they’ve had over and over. Tessa had been terrified when she found out she was pregnant, and even more so when Josh walked away. It wasn’t an easy time for her, on top of the morning sickness and mood swings she was having at the time.

“It’s going to get better soon, you know?” Tessa says, nudging him with her shoulder to get his attention. “I’m at twelve weeks, so with any luck I’ve only got a week or two of this left.” 

“I hope so, I know you’re getting antsy laying around all day.” Scott says and Tessa nods her head furiously. 

“I’m going stir-crazy. I haven’t been to the rink in weeks and god only knows how bad your junior team has gotten without my guidance.” Tessa jokes, and Scott scoffs at her. 

“Oh I see how it is. You think your advice is so prolific that my team can’t go a few weeks without you.” He says, rolling his eyes at her. She giggles softly, and the sound makes Scott’s heart sore after weeks of not hearing it. 

“October will be better.” Tessa says softly. “Once I feel better I think Tori will behave better too. It’s all going to be okay.”

Tessa’s prediction is right, and a week later her morning sickness eases off and disappears as the first few days of October begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your kinds words and patience! I look forward to your feedback :)


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone...long time, no see!
> 
> I deeply, deeply apologize for the extremely long wait for this chapter! Life got super busy for a while, and then the dreaded writers' block hit. I wrote this chapter in the span of three hours tonight when inspiration hit, and I'm so relieved to finally get it up.
> 
> Thank you all so much for the patience, I greatly appreciate it! Enjoy this long chapter as my apology for the wait :)

October, 2022

With Tessa’s morning sickness finally over, Scott felt like the mood in their house had completely shifted. Tori was throwing less temper tantrums now that Tessa was back in mom mode, and it made parenting her easier all around. 

Scott could hear Tori running down the hall to greet him as he came in the front door from a long day of coaching. 

“Daddy!” Tori calls happily. She clings on to his leg, and Scott ruffles her hair. 

“Hi there little monkey.” He says, and takes exaggerated steps as she scampers after him, still trying to cling to his pants leg. He enters the kitchen and smiles as Tori catches up to him. She plops herself down on his foot and wraps her entire body around his lower leg. 

“She’s been waiting for you by the door for almost a half hour.” Tessa tells him, turning her head over her shoulder to look at him. Scott can see she’s slicing up some vegetables for dinner, and he can smell Kate’s lasagna warming in the oven.

“Well it made for a nice welcome home.” Scott replies, and reaches down to scoop Tori up in his arms. She pats his hair, and then pulls a little. 

“Ouch, baby girl. You have to be gentle with hair.” Scott says, reaching up to untangle Tori’s little fingers.

“Why?” Tori asks, cocking her head to the side. 

“Because it hurts daddy’s head when you pull on his hair.” Scott explains, and sets her back down. Tori lifts an eyebrow at him, and Scott swears that Josh’s DNA most not have transferred to this child at all, because she’s 100 percent Tessa through and through.

“Why hurt?” She asks.

“It hurts because it’s attached to my head.” Scott says, walking towards the refrigerator to grab drinks for all of them for dinner. Tori’s silent for a second, and Scott thinks that maybe she’s done questioning him. After gathering the juice, water pitcher and a beer, he shuts the door and nearly jumps out of his skin as Tori stands just behind where the previously open door was.

“Why hair?” She asks. Tessa laughs, having apparently seen what was coming, and keeps her back turned as she puts the vegetables on a plate. Scott sighs, and places the drinks down on the counter before bending down to Tori’s eye level.

“We have hair to keep us warm.” He tells her. She seems to ponder that for a second, and Scott uses that time to pour Tessa a glass of water and put some juice in a sippy cup for Tori.

“Why warm?” Tori asks as Scott screws the lid onto her cup.

“Look! Apple juice!” Scott says excitedly, handing her the cup. Tori squeals and gladly takes it out of his hand and drinks happily.

“Good deflection there.” Tessa snorts. “I can’t say I haven’t done the same thing lately. I love that she’s learning and wants to understand, but dear lord her questions are endless.”

Scott hums in agreement, and presses himself along Tessa’s back. He reaches a hand around to cup her stomach and gently rubs his thumb up and down soothingly. Nothing makes him happier than Tessa in his arms and their daughter happily following him around their kitchen.

\----------

Thanksgiving falls on October 10, and Scott gives his junior teams the weekend off so he and Tessa can fly home. They’d discussed driving, but with Junior Grand Prix coming up a few days after the holiday, it just made more sense to fly. They leave for London Friday afternoon, and Kate is waiting for them at the airport when they land. 

“There’s my grandbaby!” Kate calls out, and Tessa lets go of Tori’s hand so she can run to her grandmother. Scott puts an arm around Tessa, and she leans heavily into his side now that she has a moment to relax. Tori had done great on the flight, but she’d been overly excited and asked so many questions that Scott thought he was going to get a permanent migraine. 

Kate eyeballs them suspiciously as they approach, and Tessa gives her mom a long hug. 

“Alright, something isn’t right. What’s going on?” Kate asks, arching an eyebrow at them.

“We’re just tired mom. Tori was a bit excited on the flight.” Tessa explains, and Kate seems to buy that answer for now. Scott exchanges a look with Tessa, and they both agree through silent communication that Kate’s probably on to them in regards to the pregnancy. They’d kept Tessa’s morning sickness a secret from their family in case something would go wrong, but now that Tessa was nearly 15 weeks along, they were planning to share their news on Thanksgiving.

The two days between Friday and Thanksgiving Day proved to be a challenge however. 

Scott, Tessa and Tori had managed to slip away to Tessa’s house for the rest of Friday afternoon and evening. Saturday was the first test in keeping their secret, as they had promised Scott’s mom to come and help out a few of their novice dance teams. Tessa hadn’t skated in weeks, and while she would never forget how to skate, she was a little rustier that usual for the first few minutes. 

Scott lets Tessa out of their dance hold for her to go get some water, and Scott overhears his Aunt Carol talking with Tessa by the boards. 

“You’re skating like you haven’t seen the ice in a while.” Carol quips, and Scott knows it’s an innocent comment, but he bristles none the less. 

“Oh yeah, I’ve just been busy.” Tessa tells her. Scott thinks her sliding into her media voice couldn’t be more obvious, but Carol seems to take her word. Scott sighs in relief and focuses his attention back on a novice pair that can’t quite seem to get the tango hold correct. 

Sunday evening is spent at Kate’s house with Kate, Jordan and Scott’s parents. Since Scott and Tessa were in town and Kevin and Casey weren’t able to make it home, it had been decided that Kate and Jordan would join the Moir’s for Thanksgiving dinner. Kate had insisted upon having Alma and Joe over the night before so they wouldn’t have to do anymore cooking than necessary.

“How about some wine, Tessa?” Jordan asks, reaching up into the cupboard for some wine glasses. 

“No.” Scott says, and then clamps his mouth shut. Tessa shoots Scott a panicked look, and he sends her one back. Jordan leans her head around the cupboard door and looks at him.

“Did I ask you?” Jordan teases, and Scott laughs nervously. “Why are you doing that?”

“Doing what?” He asks, shoving his hands in his pockets and shrugging.

“Being…weird.” Jordan says, and then points at Tessa. “And you! You’re being awfully quiet.”

“No I’m not.” Tessa says, her voice a pitch higher than usual. “And I don’t want any wine, by the way.”

Jordan arches an eyebrow (and Scott is now convinced that it’s a female-Virtue thing), and stares her sister down. Tessa’s face is getting pinker by the second, and Scott knows that if he doesn’t intervene than Tessa’s going to crack under the pressure. 

“Tessa, I think Tori might need a change.” Alma says as she comes into the kitchen. 

“Great!” Tessa says with a little too much enthusiasm and then takes Tori from Alma. “Let’s go take care of that, stinky girl.”

She all put sprints out of the room, and Scott feels like he’s been left in the lion’s den with Jordan still staring him down and now his own mother side eyeing him.

“You know on second thought, I’d love some wine Jo.” Scott says, hoping to diffuse the tension. 

“Mhm, sure.” Jordan says, her tone colored with suspicion. She hands him a glass, but doesn’t let go of it straight away. “I’m going to find out what’s going on, dear brother-in-law.”

“What are you trying to find out Jordan?” Alma asks, and Jordan releases the wine glass to Scott as she pours one for Alma.

“I asked Tessa if she wanted some wine, and Scottie here got a little nervous about that.” Jordan tells her, dragging out Scott’s dreaded nickname.

“Is everything okay?” Alma asks, turning her attention to Scott, and Scott really wishes the floor would just swallow him whole at this point. It’s one thing to deal with Jordan; it’s another to lie to his mother. 

“Things are great mom. How’s your synchro team doing this season?” He asks her, hoping his deflection works as he swipes a finger by his eye and squints a little.

“You’re right Jordan, something is up. He did that nervous tick of his. Usually that’s reserved for when he thinks scores are too low, but apparently it happens when he lies too.” Alma says, and Scott can see Jordan smirking over his mom’s shoulder. 

“Scott? Can you bring me so extra wet wipes please!” Tessa calls from down the hall, and Scott has never been more relieved to walk away from his own mother. 

So they make it to Thanksgiving dinner with their pregnancy secret intact, but pretty much their entire family is suspicious that something is going on. They’re all gathered around the table (well…a sort of table that consists of the actual dining room table, two card tables and half a ping pong table in order to hold the whole family), and Joe clinks his glass with his fork to get everyone’s attention. 

“I thought that before we eat, we could go around the table and each say a few thing we are thankful for.” Joe says. “I’ll start, I’m thankful that we could have everyone here today from out of town, and that Kate and Jordan have joined us.”

“I’ll go next!” Alma says. “I’m thankful that I get to see all my little grandbabies today, and that everyone is healthy this year.”

It continues around the table, with Danny thankful that he didn’t have to cook anything for the feast before them, and Poppy thankful that she passed her math test. Finally it comes down to Tessa, Scott and Tori. 

“Tori, what are you thankful for this year? What makes you happy?” Tessa asks her, and Tori seems to ponder it for a second. 

“Mash ‘tatoes.” Tori says firmly, and Charlie claps from across the table.

“Solid choice, kid. Solid choice.” He says, and Danny joins him in his clapping until Joe tells them to knock it off. 

Scott sneaks his hand under the table to hold Tessa’s. No time like the present, and he squeezes her hand to let her know that it’s time to share their news. 

“Well, I’m thankful for a lot of things this year.” Tessa starts. “I’m thankful that Scott’s teams are doing well, and I’m thankful that Tori continues to grow and learn every day. But, I’m most thankful that my morning sickness is gone so that I can actually enjoy all this food.”

Several things happen at once as soon as the words are out of her mouth. Alma bursts into messy tears, Danny chokes on a sip of his wine and Jordan shouts a loud “I KNEW it!” Their nieces and nephews are all asking what the problem is, and what morning sickness is. 

“Well you guys,” Scott cuts in, getting the kids attention. “We’re both thankful that Tessa is having another baby.”

Then everyone is yelling their congratulations and asking a million more questions than Tori has all week, and as Scott meets Tessa’s teary eyes, he thinks that nothing will top this Thanksgiving for a long time.

\----------

November proves to be a much quieter month than their October had been. They’re both officially back into their usual schedule, and Scott feels more settled than he has in weeks. It also helped that Tessa decides that they should go back to having date night. 

Tessa had called him that morning and told him to stay at the rink that night and that she had surprise for him for date night. So he stayed in the office, working through the hours of tape he need to get through before the next competition. Tori was quietly watching a TV show on his IPad, when Marie came into the room.

“It’s Tori and Marie night!” Marie says, and Tori squeals at her in excitement. 

“Apparently I’m chopped liver.” Patch deadpans, and Scott snorts at him. 

“Patch, Patch, Patch!” Tori chants and runs over to him, demanding to be picked up. 

“See, not chopped liver.” Marie reminds him. “Tessa is waiting for you.”

“She didn’t tell me she was here already. I don’t even know what we’re doing tonight.” Scott tells her, shutting his laptop and rubbing his eyes.

“I suggest you get your skates on and meet her out there.” Marie says, and then winks. Scott smiles and pulls his skates on. Skate nights with Tess are his favorite date nights. He makes his way out to the rink plopping himself down on the bench so he can take off his skate guards. The lights are dimmed a little, and music is softly playing through the speakers. 

“Tess?” He calls out, not seeing his wife on the ice. The sounds of blades on the ice draws his attention, and he turns towards the right where Tessa has snuck on from the other bench entrance. She’s wearing the very first dress they’d used for Moulin Rouge, and Scott feels his mouth drop.

“You look gorgeous, T.” He stutters, and she laughs.

“You think so? It didn’t exactly fit like it used to when I tried it on this morning. I about scared Mathieu to death barging into this shop this afternoon and begging him for last second alterations.” She tells him, doing a slow spin so he can take in the dress.

“Can’t say I remember that mesh paneling in the back.” Scott says, moving on to the ice so he can rest his hands on her hips.

“Well, I didn’t exactly have a baby bump or had given birth last time I wore this.” Tessa laughs, reaching a hand down to press at her stomach.

True to her word, Scott realizes that she really has started showing more at 18 weeks. She could easily hide it in any outfit (except skating costumes, of course), but the sight of the little bump makes him smile like an idiot. 

“That’s our baby.” He says. “I mean I knew that, obviously, but now I can actually see him or her growing in there.”

“It’s pretty amazing.” Tessa breathes out, and drops her forehead onto his shoulder.

\----------

Scott could curse himself for thinking everything was going so perfectly when Tori won’t stop shrieking in his ear two weeks later. She’s cutting her second year molars on the top row, and she’s beyond miserable. He knows once she’s done with the last of her molars she’ll be in the clear, so it’s a necessary evil, but there is no worse sound in the world than his daughter in pain.

“Oh baby girl, I know.” Scott says softly, rubbing a hand up and down Tori’s back where she’s slumped against his chest.

“Hurt, daddy. Owie.” She sniffles.

“Okay, so my mom said that I barely had any pain when I went through this, but Jordan was a wreck and that each child is different.” Tessa tells him as she hangs up from talking the situation through with Kate. 

“Well that’s largely unhelpful.” Scott says bluntly.

Tessa rolls her eyes as she rings out a washcloth for Tori. “Here sweetheart, try putting this in your mouth.”

Tori sniffles and takes it from her, jamming it in her mouth and sighing against Scott’s neck in relief as the cool cloth hits her inflamed gums. 

“Mommy, hurt.” She mutters around the washcloth, and Tessa smoothes her messy baby hair away from her face.

“I know, Tori. Maybe some medicine would make you feel better?” Tessa asks, and Tori makes a face at the word medicine. “No faces, it’s the cherry kind. You like that kind.”

Scott watches as Tessa grabs the children’s Tylenol out of the cupboard, and grabs the baby medicine syringe. It’s an ancient syringe; one that Kate had given to Tessa after Tori was born that had been used when Tessa was little. The spot where Tessa pushes to draw the medicine in or dispense it is shaped like a little man with a top hat, and Tori giggles when she sees it.

“Tiny man!” Tori says, and Tessa nods. 

“Yeah, baby. The little man has the medicine to make you feel better. Open up.” Tessa says, and Tori pulls the rag out and lets Tessa push the medicine into her mouth. 

“Swallow, little monkey.” Scott encourages her, and she shuts her mouth and swallows. “Show me it’s all gone.”

Tori opens her mouth wide, and Scott not only sees that the medicine is gone, but also gets a peek at Tori’s inflamed gums. 

“Good girl! Say bye to the little man.” Tessa says, and Tori pokes the little face on the syringe and waves. While Scott redirects Tori’s attention to the rag in her hand, Tessa slyly slips the syringe into the sink. He can’t help but think in that moment that he and Tessa are really knocking the whole parenting thing out of the park.

\----------

Tessa’s 20 week scan comes up in mid-November, and Scott really can’t afford to get away from the rink to go the appointment since it falls during a planning meeting for next year’s competitions. When Marie-France finds out what’s going on, she begs him to call Tessa and tell her not to find out the gender. Scott’s downright confused until Marie explains that instead Tessa should have the doctor write down the gender and seal it in an envelope for Tessa to give to her so she can hold a gender reveal party for them.

“I don’t know, Marie. I’m not sure I’d want to find out that kind of news in front of everyone.” Tessa confesses on speakerphone on her way to the appointment. 

“That’s alright! Maybe Patch and I could do something for just the two of you then?” Marie suggests. 

“I’m alright with that if you are.” Scott says, and Tessa hums for a second. 

“Let’s do it.” Tessa confirms. “I’ll stop by the rink when I’m done with the appointment.” 

Marie-France does a little happy dance in excitement, and Scott laughs nervously at finding out what he and Tessa are having so soon. 

“This is exciting and all,” Patch says as he sticks his head out of the meeting room. “But I’d really love to get the planning out of the way so I can go back to actually coaching.”

“Patience!” Marie chastises with an eye roll as she brushes past him, dragging Scott with her. 

True to her word, Tessa shows up after her appointment, holding an envelope that she passes off to Marie. 

“The baby was very cooperative and the doctor says she’s 95 percent sure of what we’re having. She also put an ultrasound shot in there that shows the gender. I only have profile ones.” Tessa tells Scott and Marie as she plops down on the coaching room couch. She rubs at her bump, a move Scott knows means the baby is kicking.

“Is he or she healthy?” Scott asks.

“Right on track and very active.” Tessa says. “The baby was moving like crazy during the ultrasound. I’ve got a copy of the video on my phone.”

“I want to see, but I also have an actual job to go do.” Marie says with a frown. “Now I’m leaving the envelope in my desk, and so help me god if either of you try to peek. Give me 24 hours to plan.”

“Yes, Marie-France.” Both Tessa and Scott say in unison as she walks out.

\----------

Twenty-four hours later, Scott gets a text from Marie asking if he, Tessa and Tori can come to the rink that night after dinner. He grins, knowing that they’re likely finding out what they’re having in a matter of hours. 

“So Marie texted…” Scott says at dinner. “She’d like us to meet her at the rink after we finish eating.”

“Now I’m not going to be able to eat; I’m too excited.” Tessa says, practically vibrating in her seat. 

“Try to eat for the baby please.” Scott says. “I worked hard on this chicken and I’d like are unborn child to appreciate it at least.”

“Alright, alright.” Tessa groans, and tucks into her plate. They eat in silence for a few minutes, minus Tori mumbling to herself as she eats. 

“Tori, do you want a baby brother or a baby sister?” Scott asks, and Tori looks up at him.

“A baby!” She says and laughs. 

“Yeah, a baby.” Tessa says with a smile. “But do you want a little brother or a little sister.”

“Just baby.” Tori replies simply.

Scott nods at her. “Okay. Well we are definitely having one of those, so you’ve lucked out.”

Tori focuses back on her food, clearly no longer interested in the topic.

“What do you want, T?” Scott asks, pushing his green beans around on his plate. “I keep bouncing back and forth between the two.”

“I feel the same way.” Tessa sighs. “I’d love for Tori to have a little sister, but at the same time I really would love a boy too. I’d thought I’d feel more strongly one way or the other, but I honestly don’t. After how rough the beginning of the pregnancy was I just want a healthy baby.”

“You’ve taken the words out of my mouth, T.” Scott tells her, and they both smile at each other before turning back to their food. Despite encouraging Tess to eat, Scott can’t get another bite in he’s so excited. He looks up to see Tessa pushing her food around her plate too. They make eye contact and then both set their silverware down at the same time.

“I’ll get Tori into her coat.” Tessa says as she stands up.

“I’ve got the car.” Scott yells as he heads out the front door.

\----------

They step into a silent Gadbois, the lights off and the building empty minus Patch’s car in the parking lot. Marie is waiting for them with Billie-Rose by the door.

“Hello everyone! Are you ready?” Marie asks, hands clasped together in excitement.

“We couldn’t even finish dinner.” Scott confesses, and Billie-Rose giggles.

“I can’t say I blame you.” Marie says as they follow her inside. “So what I’m going to have you do is stand at center ice. It’s going to be pretty dark in there, so please watch your step. Patch is going to flip a tinted spot light on the in front of you.”

“If it’s pink it’s a girl, and if it’s a boy it’s blue.” Billie-Rose explains sagely, and both Scott and Tessa nod.

“Give us a few minutes, and yell up to us when you’re ready.” Marie says before leading Billie-Rose off.

Scott loops an arm around Tessa’s waist, and scoops Tori up to sit on his hip. They make their way out on the ice slowly, and Scott tightens his grip on Tessa since her center of balance is off due to her bump.

“We’re ready when you are.” Scott calls up, and he can feel Tessa shaking against his side. He can hear the hum of the spotlight being turned on, and then the sound of the cover being slid off. The ice in front of them lights up blue, and Scott can hear himself gasp. 

“Oh my god.” Tessa says before bursting into loud sobs. Scott’s worried she’s disappointed for an all of two seconds before she starts laughing hysterically. 

“Tess, a boy.” Scott says, his voice shaking. “We’re having a boy.”

Tessa pulls him down for a kiss, and they’re both smiling so much they have to stop after a few seconds. 

“Tori, you’re having a little brother.” Tessa cries. “What do you think?”

“Little brother.” She repeats. 

“Yeah monkey, a little brother. Pretty cool, eh?” Scott says, and Tori nods. “Where is little brother, do you know?”

“Mommy.” She says simply, and Tessa’s laughs fills the entire rink. 

“Baby brother is very excited, he’s kicking away inside mommy’s tummy.” Tessa tells Tori. Scott lowers Tori so she can touch Tessa’s bump, and Tessa showers Tori where the baby is moving. 

Scott puts his hand next to Tori’s and he beams as he feels the baby moving around for the first time. 

He can feel his son kicking.

\----------

The last month of Tessa’s second trimester is December, which ends up of course being a busy month with Christmas quickly approaching. Between coaching, shopping for Christmas, trying to find time to decorate the house, planning a day to take Tori to see Santa and actually spending time with Tessa, Scott feels like his nerves are frayed. It doesn’t help that Tori has decided she needs to be around Tessa 24/7.

“Come on Tori, time to go to the rink with daddy.” He says when he picks her up at lunch. 

“No.” Tori says firmly. “Want mommy.”

“You come with me to work every day, baby girl. Aunt Marie and Uncle Patch will miss you today if you don’t come.” Scott tries to reason. Tessa shrugs from where she stands on the opposite side of the room. They both know it’s just a phase Tori is going through, but it doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. 

“I help mommy.” Tori tells Scott, and takes a few steps back as he approaches her with her Minnie Mouse coat. 

“Daddy might need your help at the rink.” Tessa tells Tori. “Mommy is going to stay here and do her work. You’ll have much more fun with daddy.”

Tori runs and latches herself on to Tessa’s leg, and refuses to be separated from her mother.

“Alright, fine.” Tessa says, exasperatedly. “You can stay here. But only today, little miss. You have to go with daddy tomorrow.”

Scott presses a kiss to Tessa’s forehead and wishes her luck before heading back to the rink. He comes home hours later to the house smelling of sugar cookies and Christmas music playing. 

“Did you actually make cookies and not burn them?” Scott asks as he walks into the kitchen. 

“Ha ha.” Tessa deadpans. “I bought the premade dough, so there really wasn’t much that could go wrong.”

“Daddy, my cookies!” Tori calls, and Scott laughs as he sees her in a too-big apron that’s covered in icing. Scott comes around the counter to look at Tori’s messy, multi-colored cookies that are heavily doused in Christmas themed sprinkles.

“Wow! Can daddy have one?” He asks her. Tori looks over her pile of cookies and hands him an iced snowman that’s really more brown that white at this point with the way all the colors have swirled together. It’s surprisingly good, and Scott plays up his moans to make Tori laugh. 

“So your mom called while you were gone.” Tessa says as she delicately ices a Christmas tree shaped cookie. “She said that Santa is going to be at the family skate on Christmas Eve, so she thought Tori might like to meet him them.”

“Two birds with one stone, I’ll take it.” Scott says, mentally checking that particular item off his list. “Did you call the doctor to clear traveling?”

“Yup, I’m good to go to make the drive there. So all that’s left to do is pack and shop.” Tessa replies. 

“Cause that’s so easy.” Scott groans, already imagining the overcrowded malls and shops he’s going to have to visit.

Tessa hands him another cookie and pats his shoulder. “Eat this, it helps the pain. Also online shopping, which I’ve done a lot of.”

Scott mumbles out a “bless you” around the cookie crumbs in his mouth, because his wife is truly a Christmas angel.

\----------

The drive to London is blessedly calm, and Scott is more than ready for a week of peace and quiet at home before returning to coaching. Well, as quiet as it can be when they’re surrounded by family nearly every day. Christmas Eve seems to come out of nowhere, and following tradition they spend the day at the Moir’s. 

Alma serves up soup for lunch, and then everyone heads over to the rink to skate. It’s a mad mix of aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws and nieces and nephews everywhere. Some are racing around the ice or taking slow laps, while others are sitting in the stands are doing crafts at the tables set up in the entryway. 

“Your father and I have an early Christmas present for Tori.” Alma tells Scott as soon as they enter the rink. He follows his mom with Tessa and Tori in tow, and they all gather in Carol and Alma’s tiny office to get away from the crowd.

“Tori, this is for you sweet girl.” Joe says, putting a wrapped box down in front of Tori. She rips into it with glee, revealing a white box with a familiar logo. 

“Oh you guys.” Tessa says before she starts crying. “You got her-.”

“Jackson toddler skates, yes.” Alma confirms, her own eyes a little misty. “She’s the same age as Scott the first time he skated, and no grandbaby of mine is going to have plastic skates as their first pair. She’s a Moir, so she needed a pair from the Moir Skate Shop.”

“But she’s also a Virtue, which means she needed a pair of Jackson’s.” Carol says with a smile.

“You get to match mommy, Tori.” Scott tells her. “Do you want to try on your skates?” 

Tori nods, and Scott helps her slide off her boots. The skates are gorgeous white and truly tiny replicas of Tessa’s preferred skates. Scott puts her foot into the skate with practiced ease, and laces her up. 

“Let daddy get his skates on, and then we can go skating.” Scott tells her, and Tori nods and holds onto Tessa’s hand as he laces up. 

“Are you going to skate, Tessa?” Joe asks, and Tessa shakes her head sadly. 

“I’m afraid not. Baby boy has thrown my balance off pretty bad.” She confesses. “I can step out there, but no skates for me.”

“No skates, mommy?” Tori asks, frowning. 

“No, sweetheart. Mommy has to keep baby brother safe, so I can’t fall down.” Tessa explains, and Scott can see Tori’s bottom lip quivering. 

Scott scoops her up, and bounces her in his arm, mindful of the little blades on her feet. “Don’t cry, monkey. Once mommy has your baby brother than you two can match and skate together.”

“Want mommy skate.” Tori whimpers, and Scott shoots a look over Tori’s curls to Tessa. 

“What if mommy puts her skates on and we take a picture together? I can’t skate, but then we can still match.” Tessa suggests, and Tori nods slowly. It ends up being more of a production than Scott thinks Tessa thought it would be after he has to lace up her skates for her since she can’t bend down far enough past her bump.

Scott steps onto the ice, and holds a hand out to help Tessa on. Once Scott is confident Tessa isn’t going anywhere, he grabs Tori from his mom and sets her down on the ice for the first time in skates. Alma snaps some pictures of them all together, and then just Tori and Tessa as promised. Once Tessa is satisfied with the pictures, she heads off the ice to change back into her boots while Scott shows Tori how to stand in order to skate. 

“Alright Tori, mommy is going to film you skating. You ready to try?” Scott asks, and Tori nods. He guides Tori along, holding both of her hands. She’s pretty steady on her feet for only two years old, and Tessa cheers her on from the boards. After fifteen minutes of skating, Tori is done with the ice.

“Look at my big girl! You did so well.” Tessa coos as Scott takes Tori’s skates off on the bench. 

“I skate, mommy!” Tori cheers, and leans her head on Tessa’s arm.

“Yes you did!” Tessa says. “I saw someone who is very excited about you skating and would like to meet you.”

“Want meet?” Tori asks, cocking her head to the side.

“Yeah, someone very special stopped by to meet you and your cousins. He’s got a big night tonight, but he wanted to see you before he has to go and get the reindeer ready.” Tessa explains.

Scott gasps dramatically. “Are you telling me Santa is here?” 

“Santa!” Tori repeats, eyes wide.

“Yes, Santa Claus is here and would like to meet you. Do you want to meet him, Tori?” She asks, and Tori nods and jumps to her feet. 

“Go, go!” Tori commands, pulling at both Scott and Tessa’s hands. A small area has been set aside for Santa, and Alma had decorated it with fake snow and an artificial tree. Santa Claus sits in his chair and lets out a jolly “ho ho ho” as they approach. 

“Why hello there Miss Tori! Merry Christmas.” Santa greets her, and Tori hides behind Tessa’s leg. 

“It’s alright, baby girl. Go on and meet Santa.” Scott encourages, and just like that Tori is running to Santa. He pulls her up onto his lap, and listens intently as Tori rambles at him.

“Is that-.” Scott starts to say.

“Casey? Yup. I was just a surprised as you are to see my brother dressed as Santa, but your mom said he volunteered when she called.” Tessa says with a laugh. 

“Tori certainly wasn’t shy once she got up there.” Scott says as they watch their daughter. 

“Yeah that’s all you. I hated seeing Santa when I was little.” Tessa replies, and leans into his side. “I was thinking that maybe I’d post a few of those pictures we took on the ice on Instragram.”

Scott wraps an arm around her and pulls her in close. “Are you sure? You never announced your pregnancy with Tori, and if you post those the cat is really out of the bag.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Being pregnant with Tori was just so…messy, and I needed that privacy. But now we’re married and happy and Tori is wonderful. We’re having another baby, and I want the whole world to know how excited I am about that.” Tessa says, smiling through her tear filled eyes.

“I’m so glad you feel that way.” Scott replies, giving her as chaste of a kiss as he can manage in that moment. 

“Watch the PDA.” Danny chirps as he walks by, and Scott blindly tries to punch his arm without breaking away from Tessa. 

Hours later, the internet is a buzz as Tessa posts two new pictures and a short video on her Instragram. One picture is she, Scott and Tori on the ice together and the other is just one of her and Tori with their skates. The video shows Scott teaching Tori how to skate for the first time and Tessa’s voice cheering her on. The caption reads: 

“Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! What a wonderful year it has been. Scott’s junior teams have continued to climb the ranks, and Tori turned two and just had her first skating lesson where it all began for Scott and I. We had a wonderful 2022, and are looking forward to an even better 2023 as we prepare to welcome a little boy in the Spring. Thank you all for another wonderful year of support. Warm wishes – Tessa, Scott, Tori and Baby Moir”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed! Let me know what you thought of this chapter, as I love reading all of your comments.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well you guys...this is it! Everyone has been so wonderful with this fic, and I can't thank you all enough for reading, leaving kudos and commenting on each chapter. 
> 
> In particular, I'd like to thank OnlySkyAboveMe, BecksSmoak, morethanpixels, canadianskater, KristenFried, emilysjonas, Fanforever15, toomucherin, bucketofrice and Tutu_22 for always leaving me such thoughtful, kind and interesting comments. You guys all kept me motivated to keep writing this story, and I can't thank each of you enough for that. 
> 
> Please enjoy this final chapter, and check out the note at the end for information on my next fic ;)

Mid-January 2023

With the new year comes an intense period of training at Gadbois, and Scott feels like he spends more time on the ice in his skates than at home with Tessa and Tori. He makes an effort to be home in time for dinner every night, but it seems like as soon as he completes one task another gets added to his plate. Between coaching his junior teams, assisting the senior teams and doing all the paperwork that comes with coaching he’s exhausted by the time he gets home. 

He never wants anyone to get sick, but when one of his junior teams gets the flu and needs some time off from practice, he feels like it’s the break he’s been looking for. Of course he didn’t take into consideration that when one team gets sick, it’s bound to spread. An emergency coaches meeting is called when the third couple of the day are sent home early. 

“So that leaves us with three healthy senior ice dance teams, and four healthy junior ice dance teams.” Marie says, running a hand through her hair. “With our luck half of those teams will be out by tomorrow.”

“Not to mention that I already sent Romain home this morning, and Sam cancelled all his sessions for tomorrow.” Patch adds. 

Scott groans, dropping his head into his hands. Thankfully his teams have no upcoming competitions, but it’s a logistics nightmare nonetheless. Between the sick teams and staff, there is no way they can make training work.

“I think the best thing we can do is shut down until next week. It won’t kill us to give everyone Thursday and Friday off to recover.” Marie says.

Patch nods. “It will hopefully keep those who haven’t caught it healthy as well. Hopefully by Monday no one will be contagious and everything will go back to normal.”

“I agree. Let’s go with that plan.” Scott replies, and opens his laptop. It was going to be a long afternoon of emails and phone calls in order to get everyone informed of the impromptu break. 

\----------

When Scott walks in the front door that afternoon, he can hear Tori screeching from upstairs. He takes the steps two at a time, worried that maybe something was seriously wrong with her or Tessa. 

“Tess?” He calls out as he sprints down the hall, following the sound of Tori’s cried to their master bathroom. Tessa is holding Tori in her lap as best as she can around her baby bump. She’s trying to balance a small plastic trashcan in front of Tori, but their daughter squirms in her lap as she cries. 

“What’s going on?” Scott asks her, taking in not only them, but also the soiled clothes in the bathtub and the towels on the floor. 

“Tori threw up; I think she caught what’s going around at the rink.” Tessa explains. Tori stops screaming for a second and Scott thinks maybe she’s calmed down, until she starts coughing and then vomiting.

“Oh baby girl.” Scott coos, and smooth's her hair away from her face. After a minute or so, Tori leans away from the trashcan and promptly starts crying again.

“Daddy, tummy hurts.” She whimpers, and Scott pulls her into his arms. She wraps herself around him, and Scott can feel the heat coming off her little body.

“It’s my fault she’s like this; I should have never taken her to the rink the other day when I knew a few people were sick.” Scott says softly, pressing a kiss to the top of Tori’s head.

Tessa shakes her head at him. “Scott, it’s okay, really. You couldn’t have known she was going to get sick, and we both knew she was bound to get her first bad cold eventually.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better.” Scott mumbles against Tori’s head. Tessa gives him a sad smile. “Why don’t you shower? I’ll give Tori a bath and try and get her down for a nap.”

“I can’t say no to washing all the germs off me.” Tessa replies, and Scott takes Tori down the hall to her own bathroom. She clings to him while he fills the up the tub and gets her towels ready. He lowers her down into the water, and she whimpers.

“Cold, daddy.” She complains, and she clings at his arms. 

“I know, monkey. The water can’t be super warm when you’re sick.” He tries to explain, knowing that his two and a half year old daughter won’t understand why. He grabs her rubber duck, hoping that her favorite bath toy will distract her. “Here, you want your ducky?”

Tori nods, and holds it close to her chest with one hand. Scott makes quick work of washing her hair and body and rinses her off thoroughly before lifting her out of the tub. He swaddles her into a fluffy towel and cuddles her close to his chest. 

“You ready to sleep?” He asks her, and she nods against him. He changes her into some light weight pajamas and tucks her into her bed, making sure her safety gate is up so that she doesn’t roll out in her sleep. She’s out like a light half way through one story, and Scott slowly walks out of the room and heads down the hall to his and Tessa’s bedroom.

“Did she go down okay?” Tessa asks from where she’s curled up in bed with a book.

“Yeah, she was pretty worn out.” Scott tells her, and then flops onto the bed next to her. “I don’t have to be at the rink till Monday, so I think it’s best that I keep an eye on Tori the next few days.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tessa asks, with an edge to her voice that Scott knows means he’s offended her somehow. 

“I mean that if anyone should watch Tori, it should be me. She’s already sick and I’m already exposed to the germs from the rink.” Scott tells her.

Tessa sighs and sets her book down. “I get that, but she needs me. I’m her mother.” 

“Tess, you can’t afford to get sick. You’re 28 weeks pregnant and the baby needs you healthy.” Scott reminds her, and reaches over to rub a hand across her growing baby bump. The baby kicks away at his hand, and he smiles at the feeling. 

“I know, and I want to make sure our son is healthy. But Tori is still my little girl, and I hate to see her so sick. I just want to make her feel better.” Tessa complains, and to Scott’s horror he can see tears in her eyes.

“I’d never keep her from you, T. Never. But, you need to stay healthy, okay? Let me take care of Tori so that way at least half of our family doesn’t get sick.” Scott pleads, and finally Tessa nods.

“Fine.” Tessa replies. “However, I need you to promise me that if she asks for me or if you need help that you’ll let me help take care of her.”

“Of course.” Scott says, and sits up to kiss her cheek. “Now I need a nap. This week has been a disaster.”

\----------

Scott wakes up feeling like he’s underwater. He can distantly hear someone calling his name and the sounds of screaming, but it’s like he’s hearing it from a mile below the surface. Everything is muted and he can’t make any sense of the situation. All he can really focus on is the fact that he’s freezing. 

“Scott!” The voice calls again, and he fights his way to the surface, knowing that he has to respond to whoever is yelling for him. He blinks, and his eyelids feel like they’re weighed down by fifty pound weights. He pries them up, and everything is fuzzy as his eyes adjust to the dim lighting.

“Oh thank god.” The person sighs, and Scott hums under his breath as he notices three people standing over him. They seem to be swaying back and forth, and then the three people become only two, then three again, then finally one that he actually recognizes. 

“Tessa.” He sighs. “It’s you.”

“Yeah, it’s me.” Tessa breathes out in relief. “How do you feel?”

“I’m kind of cold.” He tells her. “But I don’t remember getting in the water.”

“What?” Tessa says evenly. “Scott, we aren’t in any water. We’re in bed.”

“I was underwater, that’s why I couldn’t hear you before.” Scott tells her, and he really doesn’t understand why Tessa doesn’t understand him. 

“Scott, honey, we’re at home in Montreal, and we’re in bed. You’re running a pretty high fever.” She says, and Scott can hear the fear in her voice. “Tori got sick, remember? You were fine when you fell asleep, but you woke up a few hours ago and threw up.”

“I threw up?” He asks her, and he tries to remember even being awake a few hours ago, let alone throwing up.

“You don’t remember?” Tessa asks him, rubbing a soothing hand up and down his arm. She doesn’t wait for his reply as loud shrieks echo down the hallway. “I have to get Tori, you stay put.”

Once she’s left the room, Scott pulls himself up to lean against the headboard. He tries to push the fog from his mind, but finds he’s so tired he can barely keep his eyes open. He startles awake as he hears Tessa coming back in the room, and Tori is clinging to her with her legs straddled over Tessa’s bump.

“Oh god.” Scott moans as everything comes rushing back to him. “I was supposed to watch her so you wouldn’t get sick, and now I’m sick.”

“It’s fine, Scott. You need to rest, okay? I’ve got her.” Tessa says quietly. She sits Tori in her lap, rubbing her back as their daughter cries.

“Tummy hurts, mommy.” Tori whimpers, and Tessa quickly sets a trashcan in front of her. Like clockwork, Tori throws up, and Scott grimaces as his own stomach turns at the sight. He’s on his feet a second later, and he stumbles his way into the bathroom just in time for him to throw up too. He’s not sure how long he’s in there, only that after a while he feels his knees cramping on the cool tile. 

“Oh, Scott.” He hears Tessa sigh from behind him, and then feels her rubbing his back just like she had Tori’s. 

“I’m so sorry, Tess. I wasn’t supposed to get sick.” He tells her hoarsely as he sits up. She shakes her head at him, and hands him a glass of water from the sink.

“Don’t you dare apologize. It’s not like you meant to get yourself or Tori sick.” Tessa says, and she helps him to his feet. He sways a little once he’s fully standing, and she guides him into the safety of her arms. He tucks his head into her neck, and moves a hand down to palm her stomach.

“The baby and I will be fine.” She says softly into his hair, apparently reading his thoughts. “Baby boy is nestled in there safe and sound, and I’m on so many vitamins right now I doubt I’ll catch your germs.”

She guides him back to bed, and he slumps down against his pillows. Tori is curled on her side in the center of the bed, her raspy breaths echoing in the quietness of the room. Tessa slides back in to bed on her side, and pulls Tori up against her chest. Scott reaches over to hold Tori’s hand, and between one breath and the next he falls back asleep.

\----------

“Rise and shine.” Tessa calls softly as she walks into the bedroom the next morning. Scott groans and blinks against the harsh sunlight flooding the room. Tori is curled against his side, but she’s wide awake and quietly watching Moana on Tessa’s laptop. 

“It’s ‘oana, daddy.” Tori tells him. 

“I see that. You love Moana, don’t you?” He asks her, pulling himself up and readjusting her against his side.

“Love ‘oana.” Tori replies and settles back in to watch her movie.

Tessa hands Scott a bottle of water, and gives Tori a sippy cup. She sets down a tray on the bed that has a pitcher of juice, a few bottles of adult and children’s medicine, two thermometers and few bland food items.

“How are you feeling now?” Tessa asks him, settling back on the bed. “You look better than earlier this morning.”

“I’m just drowsy still, and I’m a little cold.” Scott tells her. Tessa frowns, and she reaches over and runs a thermometer across his forehead before he can even react. She frowns at the reading, and Scott knows it can’t be good. “Hit me with it, T.”

“You’re at 39 Celsius (102 F).” She tells him, and then riffles through her collection of medicine on the tray. “Here, take some of this to reduce it.”

Scott knocks back the pills she gives him, and washes it down with some water. “That’s not horrible, T. I mean it isn’t great, but it’s not like I’m dying.”

“You are your daughter match. She’s got the same temperature.” Tessa tells him as she measures out some children’s medicine into a plastic medicine cup. Scott feels his heart sink at that news, and he runs his fingers through Tori’s hair.

“Oh, poor baby.” He says soothingly, and Tori leans into his touch. “How are you feeling, Tori?”

“I cold.” She tells him, tearing her attention away from Moana. “Tummy sad.”

“That’s why mommy has some medicine for you, sweetheart. Drink it for me, please.” Tessa says, and Tori willing takes the medicine from her. 

“Good girl. You’re so brave.” Scott praises her, and Tori snuggles into his side. 

“Since you’re such a good girl, mommy has a treat for you.” Tessa tells Tori, and then hands her a container of jello.

“Thank you, mommy.” Tori says, and slurps down the first bite happily. 

“Jello?” Scott questions, watching as Tori slowly eats. “Why jello?”

“I know she can eat it and hold it down.” Tessa tells him. “I called her pediatrician this morning and he recommended it. He said as long as we keep an eye on her and make sure she’s staying hydrated that we won’t need to take her to the hospital.”

“Good, I don’t want to put her through that.” Scott says, and then settles in to watch the movie. 

“Hey Scott?” Tessa says, and he looks up at her. “Since you were good and took your medicine, I brought you some jello too.”

Scott snorts at her, but he happily takes the cup from her and slurps down the wiggly stuff.

\----------

After everyone had recovered from the flu epidemic at Gadbois, the skaters were back on the ice and everyone was in overdrive as they prepared for the back half of the season. The rest of February was spent in a whirlwind of training, planning and costume fittings. On top of managing his teams during the day, Scott went home to watch his ever-growing toddler in the evenings to help Tessa have time to prepare for the baby.

By the last week of February and into March, Tessa was finally at 35 weeks with only a little more than a month to go until their son came. They were both excited, but nervous too at adding another little one to the mix. Everything was pretty much ready for the baby’s arrival, but Scott knew Tessa still had a few things to check off her list. Most importantly, Tessa was determined to get her youngest potty trained before the next baby came. 

Scott comes home early on a Wednesday afternoon to Tori running around the living room with no pants on. 

“Daddy!” She cheers excitedly. “I have no pants!”

“I see that, little monkey. Where are your pants?” He asks her, and she giggles and runs to the bathroom. That’s where he finds Tessa, perched on one of their kitchen chairs in the corner of the bathroom.

“Are we having a bathroom party?” Scott asks her, leaning against the doorframe. 

“Until Tori decides to use the potty, yes.” She replies tensely. “She told me she had to go, so we came in here and she took her pants off and everything, and then she just sat here.”

Scott looks down at their giggling child, who doesn’t seem to care about the fact she’s running around their house as bare as the day she was born from the waist down.

“She didn’t pee or anything?” Scott asks, and both Tessa and Tori shake their heads. 

“So we’ve been waiting, haven’t we?” Tessa says, and Tori nods.

“We waiting.” Tori confirms, and Scott tries not to laugh. 

“Well, while you two wait, I’m going to start dinner.” He tells them, slowly backing out of the bathroom. Scott can hear Tessa asking Tori to sit down on her potty as he goes about putting spaghetti into a pot on the stove. He assumes things are going about the same until he feels tiny hands patting against his leg. 

“Did you pee?” He asks Tori.

“Nope!” She says gleefully, and he looks down to see she still isn’t wearing pants. 

“Tori, back to the bathroom please.” Tessa calls, and Tori hides behind Scott’s leg and laughs. 

“No mommy!” Tori calls back, and Scott knows that there is no way this is going to end well.

“Victoria Marie, do not make me ask again.” Tessa says firmly, and Scott can see her out of the corner of his eye as she stands in the doorframe. Scott thinks that their daughter must be made of pure steel, because he thinks there is nothing scarier than a pregnant Tessa Virtue on a mission. 

“No!” Tori replies. “Not want to.”

Tessa throws her hands up in defeat and sits down at the kitchen counter. “It’s pointless. I’m going to have two babies in diapers.”

Scott chuckles and ruffles Tori’s hair while he stirs at the tomato sauce. “She’ll get there, T. You know how she is.”

“Independent?” Tessa asks, lifting her head from the cradle of her hands. 

Scott wiggles his hand back and forth. “I was going to say stubborn like her mother, but we can go with independent.”

“You are the absolute worst.” Tessa moans. 

\----------

After dinner (and one accident that involved changing Tori’s pants and a quick bath), Scott had finally sat down on the couch next to Tessa. 

“So besides potty training, what’s our plan for this weekend?” Scott asks her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “I think we should probably finish getting the nursery set up. When you were pregnant with Tori she came at 37 weeks, and you’re just at 35 now, so we might as well be prepared.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to be going to World Juniors.” Tessa says slowly. 

“I’m not flying half way across the world when you’re due date is literally five weeks away.” Scott replies tensely. 

“I’ll be fine, Scott. World Junior Championship is a huge deal for your teams.” Tessa says gently. Scott tries to swallow down the anger that bubbles up inside him, because he knows she’s not wrong. It’s a huge competition for his junior teams, and one he really wants to be there for. But, his wife is having a baby, and that tops any competition.

“It is a big one, but I want to be there for the birth of our son more than I want to support my teams.” He tells her. Tessa sighs against him, and she shrugs his arm off of her. 

“You’re not going to miss the birth of our son, Scott. The doctor said at my appointment the other day that I’m showing no signs of labor, and I’m not even at nine months yet.” Tessa reasons.

Scott runs a hand through his hair. “I get that Tess, I do. But last time I left for a competition you felt the same way. Everything was fine, and you weren’t due for three more weeks. Then I get a call early in the morning that you were in labor, and I was hours away from you. Do you know what that was like for me?”

Tessa sits there in stunned silence, and Scott realizes that the longer he had talked, the louder he had gotten. 

“I didn’t know you felt that way.” She says softly, and fidgets with a string dangling from the cuff of her sweatshirt.

“Of course I felt that way, T. You were in pain and scared, and there was nothing I could do except try my hardest to get to you as quickly as possible. I missed your water breaking, and I missed those first few hours of you laboring with our daughter.” Scott whispers. 

“I promise you, you didn’t miss much.” Tessa says with a small laugh. “I woke up with cramps, called Marie-France and then my water promptly broke on our bathroom floor. The pain didn’t set in until about an hour before you showed up. I was scared, but mostly because I was so nervous.”

“I don’t want you to feel that way.” Scott tells her, and she takes his hand in hers.

“I won’t this time, I think. I’m excited for this baby, and I know what the pain is going to be like. My body will know what to do, and now I know what to do to help my body. If I felt unsure about it at all, I wouldn’t be encouraging you to go to Japan.” She says. 

Scott pulls her into his arms, and he tucks his head into her neck. “I’m just so worried that if I leave you it’s going to happen again.”

“I can’t promise you it won’t, but I’ve got a feeling that the little guy isn’t done cooking yet.” Tessa tells him. 

It’s that thought that Scott carries with him as he packs the next day and flies to Japan. His teams are laser focused, making up for his distracted mind, and he’s beyond proud of them. His younger team places eighth, which is about what he expected them to do with their lack of experience. His older juniors win gold though, and Scott feels like his chest might remain permanently puffed out with pride at how well they did. He’s packing his things that night after the gala when he gets a phone call from Tessa. He answers it to the sound of crying, and he immediately assumes the worst. 

“Oh my god, you’re in labor aren’t you? I knew it, I just knew-.” He rambles.

“No, no, I’m not in labor.” Tessa cries. “It’s Tori.”

“What’s wrong, what happened?” He asks, sitting down heavily on the edge of the bed. 

“She peed.” Tessa sobs, and Scott sighs. Tori having accidents amidst their attempts at potty training wasn’t anything new.

“Tess, it’s okay. I know it’s annoying to have to clean her sheets each time, but she’s going to get the hang of it.” He reminds her. 

“She did it, Scott.” She laughs. “She told me she peed, and I assumed she meant in her bed. But Tori took me to her potty and she actually peed in the potty.”

“Holy crap.” Scott says, and he can feel himself smiling. “Tessa, that’s amazing. I’m so proud of you both.” 

Tessa lets out another sob, and Scott chuckles and wishes he was there to hug her.

“Oh T, it’s okay. I assume you’re crying because you’re relieved that you won’t have two kids in diapers?”

“No.” Tessa sniffles. “I’m crying because my baby girl is growing up.”

\----------

Scott successfully makes it back from Japan with no early labor incidents, and he feels like he can breathe easier now that they’re back on their usual schedule. Tessa is all glowing skin and happy smiles, and it sets them both at ease. She spends more time at the rink and helping him coach, and it’s easier on both of them to have some extra hands to help with Tori as Tessa’s bump gets bigger and bigger. Tessa’s coaching one of the senior teams from the boards the second week of March, while Scott and Sam Chouinard are out on the ice. 

“You both need to watch your hand movements coming out of that lift.” Tessa calls to them, and demonstrates what they need to do. “The judges will…” 

Scott watches as her words trail off and she presses a hand to her stomach. 

“Tess?” He calls out to her and raises an eyebrow. 

She clears her throat. “Yeah, um, the judges will be watching for that.”

The pair on the ice nods, and Scott instructs them to go through another run through. He skates to the bench, and comes to stand next to Tessa while Sam films the pair skating. 

“You okay?” He asks her, running a soothing hand up and down her back.

“I’m good now, yeah.” She tells him with a shrug. “I had a Braxton Hicks contraction.”

Scott nods, and then realizes what she’s said. 

“Wow, okay.” He stutters. “And you’re okay, right? No pain or anything?”

“No pain. I feel fine, honestly. My stomach just got really tight.” She explains, and rubs a hand across the top of her bump. “I’m at 36 weeks, so this is totally normal.”

“Right, normal.” Scott repeats, and tries to focus on the pair on the ice to alleviate the anxiety that bubbles up inside him. “So…does this mean baby boy is coming early?”

“I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.” She replies, and turns back to the ice and starts a running commentary on what she thinks needs adjusted.

Tessa is right when she says they’ll have to wait and see. She keeps having Braxton Hicks contractions, but 36 weeks turns to 37, and nothing happens. They’re both on edge the entirety of her 37th week, since that was when Tori had come and they’d both expected she’d go early again. But nothing happens, other than Tori clearly noticing she isn’t the center of attention and apparently having a lot to say about that.

“No baby!” Tori says firmly as Scott helps Tessa put the finishing touches on the nursery. Tessa sighs from her place in the rocking chair that they’d moved from Tori’s room. That had been a whole other fight, with Tori shrieking about how it was her chair and not the baby’s.

“Your little brother isn’t coming right now, Tori. He’s coming soon though, aren’t you excited?” Scott asks her as he puts a few packages of diapers in the closet.

“No.” Tori says plainly. He walks out of the closet to see her pouting in the corner. 

“You’re going to be a big sister though, and that’s so much fun.” Scott tries to reason. 

Tori shakes her head and frowns. “Not fun. Don’t want baby.”

Scott shoots Tessa a look, and she shrugs at him. So they don’t bring the baby up again that afternoon. They do bring up the fact that Tori draws in crayon on the white dining room walls, and Scott has to send both girls to their rooms; Tori as a punishment and Tessa so she doesn’t strangle her own child. 

Thirty-seven weeks stretches to 38, and Tori continues to inform them she doesn’t want a baby anytime they bring it up in conversation. 

“It’s an attention seeking phase.” Tessa reminds him when Scott has to send Tori to time out for pulling all the flowers out of an arrangement he’d brought home for Tessa the day prior. “She senses that things are changing and she wants to remind us that all attention should be on her.”

“I wish we could get her to understand. I want her to be excited.” He says with a heavy sigh. 

“Kids aren’t always excited about new babies. I mean look at my brothers. My mom tells them she’s naming me Tessa and they decided that was a better name for a cat and decided to call me Sam. I think that Kevin has only called me Tessa once in my entire life.” She laughs. 

“I guess you’re right. I just thought she’d be a little more interested.” He tells her, and she pats his hand.

“She’s two, Scott. She’s a toddler and she thinks the world revolves around her, as she should at that age. Once baby boy gets here, maybe she’ll be a bit more interested.”

Scott assumes that their son will get there any day, except 38 weeks stretches to 39, and then 39 to 40. He wakes up in the dead of night, a few days before he due date, and he assumes that this has to be it finally. He sits up, ready to help Tessa through early labor, only to see her still dead to the world and Tori sitting on his feet. 

“Monkey, what are you doing?” He asks her, and Tori shrugs as she holds her stuffed bear. “Can’t sleep?”

“Wanted you and mommy.” She mumbles, and Scott opens his arms to her. She settles against him, and reaches a hand out to clutch at a lock of Tessa’s hair that has spilled over onto his pillow.

“Alright, you can stay here, but you have to go to sleep, okay?” Scott whispers, and Tori nods against his chest. He feels her slump into him as she drifts off a few minutes later, and he savors that moment with them just being a family of three before he drifts off too.

\----------

The baby’s due date comes, and with no baby still Tessa’s doctor has her come in for an exam. 

“Well your little one is doing just fine in there.” She tells them. “He’s head down and engaged, so it’s only a matter of time.”

“How much time, exactly? Cause today was kind of the day.” Scott says, and Tessa slaps at his arm. 

“I honestly don’t know, Scott.” The doctor says with a chuckle. “I can suggest some things to help try to bring labor on. My only concern is Tessa going too far past her due date.”

“What are the risks associated with that?” Tessa asks. “I’d like to keep things as natural as possible, but also safe of course.”

“Sure! So with your pelvis being a little narrower, I wouldn’t want you go past a week overdue. Generally labor isn’t induced unless your two weeks past your due date, but in your case I would have concerns about going that far.” The doctor explains, and Scott can see Tessa nodding, but all he feels is concern.

“So we want to get labor going then. What can we do?” He asks the doctor.

“I usually recommend going on frequent walks, but you can also try nipple stimulation, acupuncture, or acupressure. Some people swear by spicy foods, and I’ve also heard that raspberry leaf tea can help kick things off. Sexual intercourse can also help.” She explains. 

“So if nothing works, then I’m looking at an induction next week?” Tessa asks, and the doctor nods.

“Well I think we can get this going ourselves.” Scott says confidently after hearing some of the ways they might get labor started. “I don’t think we’ll need that induction.”

He unfortunately eats his words, because nothing works. They walk the neighborhood and around the rink for hours, and none of the acupressure appointments he schedules for her seem to have any effect. Tessa hates super spicy foods, so she only makes it through one meal before calling it quits on that method. She does drink the tea, but Scott thinks she enjoys it more than getting any benefits out of it. They even try the nipple stimulation and sex, but that all comes to a crashing halt when Tori nearly walks in on them.

So Tessa’s mom flies in two days before her induction to watch Tori, and they head to the hospital early in the morning on April 12. They’d avoided saying goodbye to Tori, mainly because they hadn’t wanted to wake her so early in the morning, and because Tessa knew both she and her daughter would probably end up crying all over each other. 

“You ready?” Scott asks as he helps settle Tessa in the front seat of their car, still parked in their driveway. 

“Beyond ready.” Tessa replies with a nervous laugh, and Scott kisses her forehead. Kate leans in to hug Tessa before he shuts the door.

“Call me if you two need anything, okay? I’ll keep you updated on Tori too.” Kate says.

“Thanks, mom. If you need a break from her at any point Marie-France said they’d be happy to watch her for a bit.” Tessa tells her.

“I want to spend all the time with my grandbaby that I can, don’t you worry about me.” Kate replies, and raises an eyebrow. “Wait, why would I want some time away from her?”

“Let’s just say she’s equal parts lovely, clingy and still not 100 percent potty trained.” Scott tells her as he buckles his seat belt.

“Ah, so she’s a miniature Tessa then.” Kate laughs, and Tessa groans. 

“Oh my god, you better start this car before she starts sharing toddler stories of me.” Tessa complains, and Scott starts the car and waves to Kate before backing out of their driveway.

Three hours later, Tessa is settled in her room with her waters broken. It had been decided once she’d been examined that this was the best route since the baby was deep in her pelvis already and she’d dilated to two centimeters on her own. She was hooked up to a heart rate monitor for the baby and a little bit of Pitocin too, and so far the baby was doing well as labor slowly began.

“This isn’t too bad so far.” Tessa says from where she lays in bed. “I know I’ll probably regret those words later, but this is nothing like when I was in labor with Tori.”

“That’s good, T.” Scott replies, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “I want this to go smoothly for you.”

Things do go smoothly until Tessa hits five centimeters, and then the pain really sets in. Scott is so proud of how well Tessa handles it, and she barely complains at all. Only he really knows how badly she’s hurting, because he knows what to look for. He sees the way she sniffles when a contraction gets bad, but she never actually cries. He watches her drop her head and close her eyes as she steadily breathes through each wave of pain.

He does everything he can to comfort her. He gives her ice chips and massages. He holds her when she wants him to, and gives her space when she needs to not be touched for a while. He helps her change positions, and lets her hold whatever part of him she needs to when a contraction comes. She’s an absolute champion, and Scott doesn’t think he’s ever seen such raw strength come from her.

The doctor checks her again a few hours later, and she’s sitting at seven centimeters. It’s at that point that Tessa gets a little antsy.

“This is moving quickly.” Tessa remarks once the doctor leaves the room. “I’m glad it’s happening fast, but god is this uncomfortable.”

Scott smiles and runs a soothing hand up and down her arm. “Only you would be sitting here at seven centimeters and call it uncomfortable.”

“That’s because I’ve felt pain before, and I’m really good at hiding it.” She tells him, and then winces as another contraction comes. 

“Don’t you hide your pain from me, T. It’s just us.” He reminds her, and pushes a lock of hair away from her face. She takes in a shaky breath and then lets it go. “Let me help you, okay?”

She nods as the contraction ends, and she presses a kiss to his cheek. “Help me up, I need to move around.”

So they pass the next few hours moving around the room. Tessa paces around with her hands pressed into her lower back, and Scott can’t help but marvel at just how pregnant that makes her look. Eventually she has him push down on her lower back to try to apply some counter pressure to the pain she’s already feeling there. From there she loops her arms around his neck and they slowly sway, foreheads pressed together. 

“You’re doing so well.” Scott praises her, and Tessa puffs out a breath.

“You keep telling me that, but I don’t feel like it.” She admits, and Scott pulls away and opens his eyes. He wipes the few tears away that have managed to sneak down Tessa’s cheeks and he smile softly at her.

“Tess, I don’t know any women that are as strong as you. You’ve had surgery for compartments syndrome twice, dealt with the pain both before and after your surgeries and you’ve gone through nearly two natural births. You’re incredible.” He says firmly. “Watching you give birth to our son, and with Tori, has been the honor of a lifetime.”

“You’re going to make me cry, and I think if I start I won’t stop.” Tessa chuckles, and then sucks in a breath as the next contraction starts.

“Just breathe, T. You’ve got this.” He tells her, and he helps her sway again.

By the time she hits nine centimeters an hour and a half later, Scott starts to worry. Tessa is still baring each contraction with a strength he doesn’t think he’ll ever understand, but he can tell how exhausted she is, not that she’ll admit it.

“Help me lie down.” Tessa grits out during a contraction and Scott slowly guides her to the bed. She lies on her side, facing him, and he lets her squeeze his hand to her heart’s content.

“It’s almost over, T. You’re so close.” He tells her, and she nods. 

“Scott?” She whispers, opening her eyes. He nods for her to go on. “I’m really fucking tired.”

Scott can’t help the surprised laugher that comes out of him when she curses, and that sets Tessa off too.

“Ow, don’t make me laugh. It hurts.” Tessa complains, but she still smiles tiredly at him.

“You’re bringing our baby into the world. You have every right to be tired.” Scott tells her. “I really don’t know how you do it.”

She breathes through another contraction, and Scott helps her pace her breathing through the pain and pressure. Within half an hour she moves to ten centimeters, and Scott feels more prepared for the birth this time than he had with Tori. He expects all the nurses that come in the room and all the equipment too. He expects the doctor encouraging Tessa to breathe through the pressure while they set up and telling her how to push. The thing he doesn’t expect is how long it takes.

With Tori the birth had been quick, thirty minutes tops, but their baby boy was clearly taking his time despite a quicker labor. Tessa’s whimpering even between contractions, and Scott feels like his heart is tearing in two each time he hears her. Thirty minutes in their son finally starts crowning.

“I can’t do it.” Tessa whispers to him, and shakes her head. 

“You’re already doing it, Tess. He’s so close.” He tells her, smoothing her hair back from her sweaty forehead. 

“Another big push for me, Tessa.” Her doctor says, and Scott helps Tessa sit up a little as she pushes. “That’s it mama, he's coming.”

Tessa lets out a soft cry and pushes again, and Scott presses his lips to her hair and silently prayers that things move quickly. 

“Excellent. Take a minute and just breathe for me.” Tessa’s doctor instructs, and Tessa relaxes back into Scott. She pants rapidly against his arm as she turns her head into him. 

“Slow down our breathes, T. You’re okay.” He says soothingly, and he slows his own breathes in an effort to get her to match him. Thankfully she does after a moment, and the nurses all smile at them encouragingly. 

“Would you like to feel your baby’s head?” The doctor asks, and Scott nods. He hadn’t felt Tori’s head, simply because he’d been so nervous. But now? Now he was really ready to be a dad again.He takes Tessa’s hand in his own and guides it between her legs. The doctor guides their joined hands to their baby’s head, and Scott marvels at the weird feeling.

“Is that all hair?” Tessa mutters and perks up a little, the first full phrase she’s said in good twenty minutes.

“It is. Your little boy has got a headful of dark hair.” The doctor tells them. Tessa smiles back, and then starts pushing again. She lets out an ear piercing scream when the baby’s head finally comes out, and Scott glances down between her legs and immediately understands why. 

“Oh my god, he’s huge!” Scott remarks, and Tessa doubles her grip on his hand.

“Not helping.” She grits out as she starts to push again.

Scott watches as the doctor quickly unwraps the chord from the baby’s neck, and then a few pushes later their son slides into the world with a scream. Tessa absolutely sags into him, and Scott presses kisses all over her forehead. He doesn’t realize he’s crying until he recognizes the chocked sobs as his own, mixed with their son’s shrieks. The doctor lays the baby on Tessa’s chest, and she reaches her hands up to cradle the baby.

“Hi there sweet boy.” She coos, and then she starts crying too. “My goodness you are so big, and look at all your hair!”

“He’s definitely a Moir.” Scott says, and then has to press the back of his hand to his mouth to hold back another sob. He didn’t think he’d be so emotional, but now that their son is here he can’t help all the emotions that bubble up. He adores Tori with every fiber of his being, but to get the chance to raise a little Moir boy of his own after watching his parents and brothers do it for years is something he didn’t know he needed.

“Thank you, Tessa. He’s…” He trails off, not even knowing what to says.

“He’s perfect.” Tessa finishes for him.

\----------

Tessa feeds the baby before drifting off to sleep for a few hours, and Scott thinks she deserves to sleep for a few days after all the hard work of the labor and delivery. He happily changes the baby and keeps an eye on him, wanting to give Tessa as much rest as he can. It’s late evening by the time he settles into the rocking chair, and their visitors had all agreed to come at lunch time the next day so they could have some time to recover from the birth.

Their baby, who still didn’t have a name, was quiet for the most part. He seemed content to snuggle into his blanket in Scott’s arms and sleep. 

“Well little guy, your mom and I are thrilled you’re here.” Scott whispers, and runs a thumb across one of the baby’s eyebrows. “You certainly didn’t make it easy on your poor mom, but I think that’s just a Moir boy trait honestly. We’re going to let her sleep for a while though, okay? She needs a lot of rest after brining you into the world.”

The baby fidgets in his sleep, and Scott slowly rocks the chair to help him settle back down.

“Your sister is going to be so excited to meet you. Tori hasn’t been so sure about you, but once she meets you I think she’ll change her mind. She’s going to be the best big sister, and you are so, so lucky to have her. Tori will take the best care of you.”

Scott sighs and settles back into the chair.

“Our family is perfect, you know, now that you’re here. But, your mom and I have done things a little out of what most people would consider the normal order. See, your mom and I met a long time ago, and we even went to the Olympics. When I found out your mom was pregnant with your sister, I did everything I could to be there for her. So we had your sister, and then we got engaged, and then we got married and now we have you.”

The baby snuffles, and Scott smiles down at him. 

“I agree, baby. It isn’t that big a deal, is it? Exactly. Now in a few hours you’re going to meet a lot of people. Your Grandma Kate is going to bring your sister, and Aunt Marie and Uncle Patch are going to come too. The rest of our family lives in Ilderton and London, so we won’t see them for a while yet. But they’re all very excited to meet you, especially your uncles Charlie and Danny.”

Tessa shifts in her sleep, and Scott watches her for a second to make sure she’s okay before looking back down at their son. 

“You probably don’t know it yet, but your mom is the best person in the world. She’s so smart, and kind and beautiful. She’s such a good mom, even though she wasn’t sure she would be when she had your sister. She was so scared when she found out she was pregnant with her, but she turned that fear into strength and never looked back. Watching her grow and take on the roles of mother and wife have been so amazing. I’ve watched her change into probably the most powerful woman I’ve ever known, and their isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not humbled by getting the chance to be her husband.”

Scott wipes at the tears that fall down his cheeks. 

“Your mom has changed me for the better, little guy. She calms me down and balances me out in ways I can’t describe. She makes me so happy, and I can never thank her enough for that. But most importantly, she’s made me a father. Getting to raise you and your sister is worth more than any gold medal or competition I’ve ever been in. So know that even on the nights when you won’t stop crying or you poop on me that I love you. Besides your mom, you and your sister are the best things that have ever happened to me.”

\----------

Tessa is wide awake the next morning and the baby eagerly breastfeeds while Scott sorts out breakfast for the two of them in the hospital cafeteria. By the time he gets back, the baby is fast asleep again in Tessa’s lap, and she has a list of baby names on a sheet of paper in front of her.

“I think it’s time we give this little guy a name.” Tessa tells him as he hands her a muffin. She happily unwraps it and starts eating. Scott recognizes the sheet of paper as the one they’d both jotted baby names down on throughout her pregnancy. 

“I agree.” He says as he settles into the chair next to her bed and bites into his omelet. 

“We both liked Aaron, Cole, Dominic, Jacob and Tyler.” Tessa tells him. “Why don’t you pick? I chose Tori’s name, so it’s only fair you make the choice.”

Scott hums and looks at the baby in Tessa’s lap. Picking his son’s name is such a monumental thing, and he looks at the little life lying in his wife’s lap and tries to figure out who this little person will be and what name will suit him best.

“Dominic Patrick. We’ll call him Nick.” Scott says after a minute, and Tessa smiles at him. She lifts the baby up a little so she can see him better. 

“Nick Moir.” She says. “What do you think, Nick?”

The baby squirms in her arms, and Tessa giggles. “I’ll take that as a yes. So it’ll be Scott, Tessa, Tori and Nick Moir.” 

“I like it.” Scott says, and then stands up to take the baby from Tessa. He cradles Nick against his chest, and smiles down at their son. 

Marie and Patch show up a half hour later armed with baby gifts and food, and the two of them coo over Nick.

“Mon dieu, he’s a big baby.” Patch comments when Marie hands him Nick, and Marie rolls her eyes at him. “What? He is.”

“You’re not wrong. He’s nine pounds even.” Tessa says. “He certainly didn’t make it easy on his mommy.”

“I do not know how you did it, ma chére.” Marie tells Tessa as she wraps an arm around her. 

Scot shakes his head and smiles. “You’ve seen her in labor before, Marie. Tess is a forced to be reckoned with.”

“That is true.” Marie says and then turns to Patch. “Now give me back Nick, I want to hold him again.”

\----------

Once both Nick and his parents have had their lunch, Scott calls Kate to bring Tori to meet her brother. He’s anxious as he waits for them in the lobby of the hospital, not sure how Tori will react to her sibling. 

“Daddy!” Tori calls when they come in, and he bends down and scoops her up. “I miss you!”

“I missed you two, Tori.” He tells her. “Are you ready to meet your little brother?”

She nods, and he holds her hand as they walk to the elevator. He lets her push the button for the maternity ward, and he picks her up once they get off the elevator. Scott knocks softly on the door to Tessa’s room and then walks in. 

“Mommy, hi!” Tori calls out, and Scott can feel her straining to reach for her mother. 

“Hi, sweetheart.” Tessa says, and Scott slowly eases Tori down onto the bed. “You need to be gentle with mommy, okay? Mommy’s a little sore right now.”

Tori nods and snuggles into her mother’s side. “I draw picture for baby.”

“You did?” Tessa asks. “That’s so nice of you.”

Kate hands over a messy crayon drawing, and Tori proudly takes it from her to show Tessa. “That daddy, that mommy, that me and that baby.”

“That’s so nice, baby girl. What a good drawing.” Scott praises, and she smiles up at him. “Would you like to meet your baby brother?”

Tori nods and Scot gently transfer Nick into Tessa’s arms. 

“This is your little brother, Tori. His name is Nick.” Scott tells her, and both he and Tessa watch as Tori stares down the baby.

“Nick.” She says. “Little brother.”

“Yeah, your little brother Nick.” Tessa confirms. “Would you like to touch him?”

Tori nods enthusiastically, and Tessa lowers the baby so he sits in her lap. She guides Tori’s hand to Nick’s chest and she shows her where she can touch her baby brother, and how to be gentle. Tori seems to take it to heart, and she gently touches Nick’s stomach and chest. 

“You can give him a kiss.” Scott tells her. “I think he’d like that.”

Tori bends at the waist and plants a gentle kiss on Nick’s face. Nick opens his mouth and flails his arm, and Tori pulls back.

“It’s alright, he’s just saying hi.” Tessa tells her, and Tori leans in to plant another kiss on Nick’s hat covered head. “He’s got lots of hair, just like you.”

“I see hair?” Tori asks, and Tessa nods and then takes off Nick’s hat. The amount of hair delights Tori just as much as it does her parents, and she sits there and giggles. It startles Nick, and he lets out a startled little shriek.

“Oh it’s alright, Nick. You’re okay.” Tessa says softly, and Nick slowly settles back down.

“Okay Nick.” Tori soothes, trying to match Tessa’s calming tone. Tessa smiles at Scott as they watch their daughter try to calm Nick down, and he can tell how relieved she is that Tori has come around on having a new baby in the family. 

“What do you think of Nick, Tori?” Scott asks, coming up to sit on the side of the bed next to her. 

“Love Nick.” Tori tells him and then smiles. “Love baby brother.”

Tessa sniffles as a few happy tears fall down her cheeks, and Scott leaves his own tears unchecked. 

“I’m so happy you love him, baby girl.” Tessa tells her. “He loves you too.”

“We’re all one big loving family.” Scott says, and Tori smiles at him at the same time Tessa does. “Come what may.”

Tessa laughs and wipes at her tears. “You’re so cheesy.”

“You love it though.” He says, caressing her cheekbone. 

“I do.” She says, pulling him in for a kiss. Scott nestles in closer to her, and pulls Tori into his lap. He throws an arm around Tessa’s shoulders, and Tori holds on to his other hand. He strokes the top of Nick’s head with the arm that’s around Tessa. 

He’s got his whole life in his arms, and he would never change any part of the journey that it took to get them there. Tessa, Tori and Nick were his everything, and nothing would ever change that.

 

The end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading and going on this long journey with me! 
> 
> As for my next fic, I'm happy to reveal that I am currently writing a Tessa and Scott Titanic AU. I've been planning and researching for this fic for weeks now, and I'm beyond excited to finally start writing it. I've decided that in order to post each chapter in a timely fashion, that I'm going to write the entire story first and then post it chapter by chapter. So, you may not see anything from me for a while, but I promise I'm working hard for you guys on something new that I hope you all will enjoy. 
> 
> In the meantime, I don't post much on tumblr, but I do reblog lots of Tessa and Scott content, so you can find me there under the name "theannoyinglyfuriouscollection." I'd love to answer any questions you might have or just chat with any of you about our favorite ice dancers :)
> 
> Until next time <3 - HockeyRPFFan


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